UnNamed Claymore AU
by TheSilentChloey
Summary: A Claymore Au featuring Isley, Rigaldo, Roxanne, Hysteria and Cassandra. Hysteria is a young woman with a sharp mind that sometimes gets her into trouble, so when her father tries to force her to get married to a man she doesn't even know it sets of a chain of unexpected events that cause chaos! Rated M to be safe! Please R and R!
1. Prologue

Claymore AU Prologue Not So Sweet 16

Started on: 16/07/2012

Hysteria stomped up the stairs, she was livid because she was being ignored by her sister and it was her birthday, a day where everyone should pay attention to her. She threw her bag down and slammed herself on her bed; she was going to cry soon, something that was a strange occurrence. She lay on her stomach and her anger turned to hopelessness and she sobbed her heart out.

As she was crying she heard the door creak open and soft footsteps padded across the carpet,

"Fuck off Teresa!" Hysteria snarled, not even bothering to see who it was, she had had enough of her younger sister,

"Oh please Hysi," said a distinctly male voice, "mind your language please."

Hysteria jumped up and slammed herself into her older brother Isley's arms still sniffing and crying. She rarely saw Isley as he went to an all boys' boarding school since seventh grade, their father had wanted Isley to have the best education that was possible, while Hysteria went to the local high school, because up to Year 10, education was compulsory. Her father never cared about the marks that she got as he didn't see them worth anything, he wanted her to be married now, with a baby on the way. He expected her to give up school for his own power games, she was told that she would meet her future husband at her elaborate birthday party, and she would be married within the next week. She tried to explain to Teresa that she didn't want to get married yet, but the stubborn girl had reasoned that Hysteria was just being a fool, and had ignored her. That stupid little black wavy haired bitch had ignored her! Hysteria's sobs subsided and she considered her older brother. His long silvery hair made him look a lot older than his 18 years, and he was quite tall, her pale blue eyes looked in to his sapphire blue ones and she whispered softly,

"I'm not ready to get married yet."

"I know, Hysi," he said gently, "which is why I came to see you. I have a plan that will spare you from having to get married, but we only have half an hour before he arrives to do it, and we have to be gone by then. I need you to pack light, only what you need, bring your small suite case, it should be enough."

"But what about my books for school?" she asked him,

"Bring them if you must, but be quick." He told her.

He left the room quietly and Hysteria grabbed out her small suite case and she packed a week's worth of clothing, as well as her stuffed toy horse that she just couldn't sleep without, which she called Fluffy. She stuffed her pads into the front pocket as well as her hair brush and hair ties. She shoved her uniform on top and zipped it up. She then shoved her note books and textbooks into her school bag; she was ready by the time Isley came back,

"You're ready, good, we need to leave now!" he told her.

Hysteria followed Isley to his sports car, and he swiftly put her suite case in the back of his car, as well as her school bag. She sat in the passenger's side and put the seat belt on. She was scared as she had only ever been out of home for school and a school camp. Her father had forbade her from attending sex education classes at school, and he had also refused to allow her on any day trips for school, forcing her to stay home and learn what he called "woman's work" while her brother Isley did as he pleased most of the time. She had often wished that she was as free as Isley, but her father would never have allowed it, she was to be confined to the house and that was it. Now she was petrified, she didn't know where Isley would be taking her, but he told her that where she was going she would be safe, and she wouldn't have to get married. She didn't understand why he was doing this, but she was glad he was. Of course she wouldn't question him about where he was taking her, that in her mind was something that was immoral and she would never question any man, as she was taught not to question them, they knew best. She was unsure of just _how_ Isley was going to spare her from marrying before she was ready, it seemed that he had put a lot of thought in to this plan; she shouldered her doubts and watched as the road she knew was a blur of black silhouettes, merging in to one great shadow. So much for a sweet 16, she thought. Her birthday was turning out to be the worst one in her entire life so far. She heaved a sigh and continued to stare out the window, her eye lids getting progressively heavier as the car's engine purred. Isley stopped at a service station to get some fuel, and Hysteria decided to get Fluffy out of her suite case. Isley sighed and opened the boot. Hysteria moved her school uniform aside and pulled out Fluffy, re zipping her suite case closed. She climbed back in to the passenger's side of the car and waited for Isley to come back. When he returned, he had two ice creams, one he gave to her,

"I'm afraid that this will have to do for a little while Hysi," he sighed, "It will be a while before we get to Roxanne's."

Hysteria didn't know who Roxanne was at all. She quietly thanked him for the ice cream, and was careful not to get it on Fluffy. The car smoothly continued forward, Hysteria finished the ice cream, and continued to stare out of the window with interest. She didn't know how long they had been travelling for, but her eye lids were soon dropping again, and before long, she was sound asleep, her head resting on Fluffy, the ice cream long since eaten.

Isley drove along the familiar high way that would take him to Roxanne's house. He lied to his father about being a good boy and staying on campus. He knew that if his father found out that he was sleeping with her, Isley knew that all hell could break lose. That was if it didn't already, because he was taking Hysteria. The annoying thing about his father was that he saw Hysteria as something that could be sold off to the highest bidder. He had kept the girl as cloistered as possible, and Isley wasn't sure if she would have the ability to protect herself. He was both shocked and amazed by the fact that she obediently did as he told her, as he had expected her to question him about where he was taking her and what he was doing. He now knew that he was definitely doing the right thing by taking her away. He was a little surprised that she was dragging along her stuffed toy horse of all things. He sighed and a quick glance revealed that she was leaning on it, her nose pressed in to its mane. Her breathing was deep and even. _Damn,_ he thought, she was an early bird that was for sure. However a quick look at the clock in Isley's car told him that it was nearly 10. Two hours after she was normally in bed. They'd left home almost four hours ago. Isley carefully pulled in to the exit, and followed the road for another hour and a half. He'd told Roxanne that he'd be late tonight, and he decided to call. She answered on the first ring,

"Hi Isley," she purred,

"Hey Rox, I'm on my way, I reckon I'll be there at 11:30 honey," he said calmly, "I'll see you soon,"

"Ok, see you baby," she gushed,

The line went dead as he drove on, hurtling a bit to make up for some time. Hysteria moaned in her sleep, but didn't wake. It wasn't long before he received a phone call that he had been dreading. It was his father. Isley couldn't ignore it at this hour, because his father might ring the teachers. Isley cautiously answered the phone,

"Isley!" his father yelled, thankfully Isley had turned the volume down, so it was more like his father was talking normally, "WHERE IS HYSTERIA?"

"How would I know," Isley faked a yawn, making it sound as if he'd crawled out of bed to answer his phone,

"Oh," Isley turned the volume up again, his father always opened by yelling, and once he was satisfied that all was well, he'd talk normally "Well, I…thought that she might have been with you, well, I suppose that complicates things mightily…you see, she's missing, and Teresa says that she didn't see her go."

He hung up without another word, like normal. Isley hoped that his father wouldn't do anything too drastic, but if he was like this, there was no telling what he could do next.

As he pulled into the driveway of the house that he shared with Roxanne, Isley could see that Roxanne was outside waiting for him. She was in her pink fluffy dressing gown and Isley knew that she'd be wearing her sexy nighty underneath it. He supressed a grin as well as his craving, he needed to be sure that she wouldn't mind Hysteria after all. He cut the engine as she moaned in her sleep. Hysteria half rolled over, her head now resting on the seat, the toy horse held tightly in her arms, her long hair covered her face. Roxanne came over as Isley opened his car door,

"Hey, you're back," Roxanne smiled, "who is the delightful little girl Isley?"

"My sister Hysteria," he replied,

"Oh, so this is your little sister," Roxanne's eyes widened, "oh she's such a doll!"

Isley laughed lightly and cautiously opened the passenger door. Hysteria sighed as Isley carefully undid her seat belt. He slowly picked her up and carried her inside the night air was bitterly cold. Roxanne hurried ahead of his and opened the door. He followed her to the spare room. He lay Hysteria down as Roxanne pulled some extra blankets from the linen press. Quietly he tucked Hysteria in as Roxanne put the spare over-blankets on the bed. Isley went back outside and got Hysteria's suite case and school bag. Once he'd locked the car and closed the front door, he laid them near the end of the bed. She would sleep for a while yet.

Isley walked into the room that he shared with Roxanne, she padded in behind him and he lightly reached for her dressing gown, and sure enough she was wearing her sexy nighty like he'd thought, and not much else in the way of clothing. Just seeing Roxanne like that was enough to arouse him. It wasn't long before the pair shifted closer together, kissing, exploring and making love.

Hysteria woke to a new day, she needed to pee. She was in a strange a strange room and she had no idea as to where she was. She half hoped that she woke hear her mother's yell; and her father's indignant and furious voice though the door. However, she heard neither of those things. As she got up Fluffy fell to the floor, and she truly looked around the room. The window had light aqua curtains, casting a subtle glow in to the room, the carpet a pale cream, the bed spreads large and fluffy, clashing wildly with the colour of the room. Hysteria picked up Fluffy and sat it on the bed. She walked out of the room, opening the door as she really needed to pee. The first door that she opened was shocking, and she fought back the urge to scream.

Isley was asleep, with a strange woman draped over him. She was naked; her bare breasts pressed against Isley's chest, her long curly hair flowed around her shoulders. She had a beauty mark under her right eye, her fringe swept to the left of her face. She was deeply asleep, and Hysteria quietly closed the door, she was shuddering.

The next door yielded a cream bathroom, but not a toilet. She tried another door and at last it was a toilet. After she was finished Hysteria flushed the toilet and went back to the bathroom, she washed her hands and went back to the room that she was in. She decided that she would go back to bed and as she pulled Fluffy to her chest she was tired and allowed sleep to claim her.

Isley woke to a new day, Roxanne's breasts were pressed against his chest and he admired the sensation of it. She stirred slightly and tilted her head towards him, her beautiful greenish blue eyes were smiling at him, he grinned and then he sighed,

"We'll have to get dressed."

"Oh dear Isley, so keen to start the day already?" she asked him,

"I don't want to, but my stomach says otherwise."

"Oh, that time of day…hehehehe, well I'll see what I can do!" Roxanne got dressed and headed out of the room, walking to the kitchen and she began to muck around with the pots and pans, working out what to make for breakfast. She settled on pancakes and by the time she'd started the second one, Isley was out and fully dressed his little sister in tow.

"Breakfast's almost ready," Roxanne sung,

The girl regarded her with wide childlike eyes, and Roxanne noticed that Hysteria's eyelashes were rather long.

"Are you two married?" Hysteria asked Roxanne,

Roxanne laughed at the strangeness of Hysteria's question,

"Well, I suppose you could say that Isley's my man, but married, well, let's just say we're working on that end."

"Oh," Hysteria blushed and Roxanne could definitely see Isley's own blush in that.

Isley sighed and took a seat at the table Hysteria sitting to his left. Roxanne finished the pancakes and served everyone. Hysteria ate as much as her bother, which surprised Roxanne; she would have thought that a little lady like Hysteria would eat a small portion of pancakes. Hysteria however easily put down as much as Isley. They soon finished breakfast and Hysteria helped with the dishes. Roxanne headed over to the phone which was ringing and she had a bad feeling about it.

"Hello,"

"Hey Rox, it's Cass," her slightly crazy short haired older sister spoke, "listen I just ran across a guy that was really gross,"

"And Cassandra?" Roxanne asked,

"Well he wanted to fuck me!?" Cassandra cried,

"Oh Cassandra," Roxanne sighed, "How can you say that,"

"Because he said it outright, said he liked my tits!" Cassandra cried,

"Cassandra, how many times have I told you to not to listen to them and shove it back in their faces."

"Oh sure, easy for you to say, you've got Isley to fuck you! I've got no one to do that for me!" Cassandra snapped, "I mean come on, I know that guys would like to fuck me, but I don't want the boys…I want Undadame to fuck me!"

"Well, tell her then," Roxanne sighed,

"I can't!" wailed Cassandra,

"Cassandra! You can!" Roxanne sighed in exasperation, "I'm sure she won't mind you being open with her,"

Cassandra sniffed, "Alright then, I'll tell her!"

Roxanne smiled and knew that Cassandra wouldn't be able to tell Undadame, and if she did, the pair of them would be bragging about their joint exploits. Roxanne smiled and shook her head, Cassandra sure was a worry. Ever since she'd come out about being in to girls, her strange behaviour was actually sensible, Roxanne decided that she'd deal with it, not because she tolerated such behaviour, but because it was Cassandra. Roxanne sighed as she pulled on her jumper, the pink one with "Hello Kitty" on it. Hysteria looked at Roxanne curiously; clearly she didn't know what "Hello Kitty" was.

Hysteria had a shower and waited patiently for Isley to return home. She didn't know what to do now that a new day had begun. She had nothing except her school books to entertain her, so she started on her assignment, completely unaware that she would never be able to hand it in.

As she looked through her school books Hysteria came across interesting things, and for the first time in her life she realised that she was free to read what she wished. It was a strange feeling, one that made her feel rather grown up.

The day was relatively quiet; Roxanne had the day off work so she decided to take Hysteria out shopping. Hysteria was surprised that Roxanne knew how to drive, and Roxanne found it quite funny. She led Hysteria to her favourite shopping haunts and decided to get some things for Cassandra, after all her older sister would like them as she always was a little kinky. Poor Hysteria kept cringing and averting her eyes, like a real prude Roxanne decided. They soon went to another shop that was a cute boutique; Roxanne was happily talking to a young woman over the counter about bras and underwear, and about other subjects that made Hysteria feel like she was nothing more than a little girl.

"I'm telling you Luciela, I know that Cassandra really needs something sexy, she's going to pluck up her courage to tell Undadame the truth!" Roxanne smiled,

"Ohh, we have been waiting for the day! Well, well, well, I do hope you know her size!" Luciela replied.

Hysteria couldn't help but stare at the red haired beauty, her green eyes twinkling mischievously, her hair was up in two long high pigtails and she was wearing a tightly clad dress, nothing like Hysteria herself would wear.

"I do and I know more!" Roxanne teased,

"Ohh do tell Rox, do tell!" Luciela gushed, "You know that I'm quite amazed that Cassandra finally came out of the closet about herself!"

Roxanne grinned, "As far as I am concerned Lucy, Cass will have to tell Undadame!"

"Ohh, good luck with that!" Luciela squealed,

"Hahahahahahahahahaha," Roxanne laughed, "it'll be perfect timing for both of them I can assure you Lucy."

Roxanne led Hysteria back to her car and was grinning like a fiend. Hysteria looked at Roxanne confused,

"I don't understand…why does Cassandra need those things that you brought?" Hysteria asked Roxanne

"Well, long story short, Cass has a girl that she's really in to romantically speaking and I figure there's no better way than a few sexy outfits, after all Cass's a little kinky when she wants to be."

"She's gay?" Hysteria frowned, more confused than before,

"Unfortunately yes," Roxanne replied, "Cassandra's into women, we only found out about a month ago and our parents weren't pleased to hear it. As far as I am concerned, I don't enjoy the fact that she's in to women, I think that it's a waste, but as long as she's happy I guess I can't begrudge her."

"You don't sound happy about it," Hysteria noted,

"I'm not, but I do want Cassandra to be happy." Roxanne replied,

The car came to a stop smoothly in front of a very sweet classical style house. The late June sun was casting a golden glow on to the veranda. A young woman was sitting in a chair and half rose out of it when she heard the car and upon seeing that it was her sister's car, slowly sunk back into it. Cassandra ran a hand through her short layered sun-kissed blond hair and sighed. Roxanne had been adamant that Cassandra should tell Undadame how she felt about the petite golden-brown haired beauty who wore her long hair in low pigtails. Cassandra felt such strong feelings for her house mate who worked as a midwife at the local hospital. Cassandra had been trying to tell Undadame for months about how she felt, but every time she was close to saying it, she would blush and lose her confidence. She was reduced to small talk and it was starting to get frustrating to the point that Cassandra was tempted to just kiss the girl already. She found her attention diverted by the tall long haired blond that gracefully walked behind her sister. Cassandra was riveted to the spot in surprise. She just had to be a girl, no more than 16 at the most, her long hair was pulled back in to a pony tail, and she had two braided bangs on either side of her face. Two more braids danced in the back of her ponytail, and her long eyelashes framed her pretty blue eyes. Cassandra blinked a couple of times just to be sure that this tall girl actually existed, and upon realising that she did, Cassandra couldn't help but compare the girl to Undadame and soon found that this one wasn't the one that she liked the best. Undadame's beauty remained the centre of Cassandra's thoughts.

"Oi Roxanne, why are you here?" Cassandra enquired,

"To help you Cass," Roxanne smiled, "I have some presents for you, and I need you in your birthday suit."

"Wha…what? Roxanne, what are you-?" Cassandra blinked,

"Come along Cassandra," Roxanne grinned,

Cassandra had a feeling in the pit if her stomach that Roxanne was up to something. She didn't realise it but as far as Roxanne was concerned the plan was simple…very simple…

Undadame hummed to the music as she drove towards the house that she shared with Cassandra. She wondered if she should tell her house mate how she really felt about her and how much of a turn on she was when she had a towel on and not much else. She had just finished her shift and was looking forward to the day off, although she didn't know how she was going to spend it. She sighed as she pulled in to the driveway. It looked like Roxanne was visiting, something that was a usual occurrence. Undadame sighed and parked her car. She carefully pulled her handbag out from the back of the car and was more than prepared (or she thought that she was prepared) for what she was about to hear. She paused as she heard Cassandra's voice,

"Roxanne, what the hell is this for?!"

"You look a treat Cassandra," Roxanne replied, "I don't know why you don't wear things like this more often dear; it does help to break the ice you know."

Undadame carefully negotiated her way towards Cassandra's room she froze as she beheld Cassandra in erotic, delicate silk lingerie with lace. She felt her face burn as she looked at Cassandra free from her normal practical clothing. Undadame came in quietly and before she knew it said,

"Wow Cassandra, you look hot!"

Cassandra swung around and was blushing like usual; Undadame's own blush was as red as Cassandra's was. It was an unspoken message between the two that led Roxanne to say, "Well, Hysteria and I had best get back home for Isley, so I'll leave these for you here Cass, bye,"

Cassandra didn't even once look at her sister and was far more preoccupied with Undadame's stare.

By the time Roxanne had left Undadame and Cassandra heated things up, kissing to the others' surprise. It was only then that Undadame found out that Cassandra had feelings for her. Undadame smiled, "That makes two of us then." and Cassandra's answering blush was a sight to behold.

Roxanne was shaking her head all the way home, Hysteria hadn't said anything the whole trip, but was more interested in the view outside the window. Roxanne was sure that there would be interesting things happening at Cassandra's house tonight. By the time they had arrived home Hysteria headed in for a shower and was in her nightdress, which left little to the imagination. Roxanne was surprised by just how early the girl was ready for bed. She sighed and shook her head.

Isley arrived home a little before seven o'clock in the evening. He was surprised that Hysteria was already ready for bed. She rushed over to him and gave him a quick hug and Roxanne smiled at him,

"Well, you're just in time Isley," she said, "dinner's almost ready."

"Good," he replied, "how was today?"

"Well, we had a lot of fun," Roxanne winked at Hysteria, "I had a visit with Cassandra and we went shopping."

Isley chuckled, "Women and shopping…I don't get the finer details I suppose."

They sat down to dinner and soon talk turned to Isley's day and his usual arguments with Dauf, Chronos and Rigaldo, all of whom were the top four of their year,

"I swear Rigaldo's got some nerve to be like he is…he's a nightmare, and he can't take being second best, to be perfectly honest I'd rather see him off the face of the earth than on it."

"How come?" Hysteria asked,

"Don't worry Hysi, he's just a guy that I know at school, you won't need to worry about him." Isley smiled at his little sister, "It's too long a tale at any rate."

By the time they had finished dinner and the dishes Hysteria was yawning and ready to go to bed. She bade them goodnight and went to her room. She crawled under the covers and pulled Fluffy in to her chest. She was asleep when her head hit the pillow.

Roxanne looked at Isley and knew that he was hiding something from his younger sister; clearly he didn't want to say whatever it was until she was in bed.

"Someone is going to have to take care of her tomorrow," Isley sighed, "I don't want Rigaldo or any of the other guys to know that she is here. I have to make sure that she is safe."

"Isley," Roxanne began,

"I don't want my father knowing where she is because he'll do something terrible to her. I know that he already had a marriage queued up for her, but she's too young, I don't want that life for her, she's smart, goodness if you saw the grades that she was getting, you'd be amazed Roxanne," Isley sighed, "and he didn't even care, not once did he see how she was doing at school, nor did he take any interest in her schooling in general."

He got up and got a glass of water,

"I'm sure that Elizabeth wouldn't mind looking after Hysteria, she's a good friend of mine, or even Uranus might be able to. I would trust Uranus with my life." Roxanne said,

"We might have to see with them though," Isley reminded her, "they might not want to."

"Nadine…although she can be a bit over the top sometimes…" Roxanne chewed her bottom lip, "I know that Luciela won't be able to on certain days…and Cassandra well, I wouldn't have Hysteria with Cassandra on her own that could be asking for some trouble…"

They continued their discussions until it was late in the night. They then went to bed themselves and slept.

Having been through a day away from home Hysteria was a little nervous, she remembered where the toilet was and was pleased. She got dressed and walked out in to the kitchen. She came across Roxanne and a strange woman. The woman wore her hair short and was quite scary looking. She wasn't the sort that looked like she could smile. Hysteria cautiously came over. For all the scariness of the woman's appearance, she was very kind,

"Hello there, my name's Uranus, nice to meet you," she said,

"I'm Hysteria." Hysteria replied, trembling slightly, "How do you do?"

"Wonderful thank you," Uranus replied with a smile.

Hysteria took a liking to Uranus' smile, and so she got to spend the day with Uranus and she learned how to ride.

By the time July came around, the days were bitterly cold and the nights were very long. Hysteria had been away from her father's house for a month. She had settled into her new life well, she loved heading out to Uranus' horse riding school for the day. She helped Uranus and learnt about horses. She was almost able to canter on her own and had made good progress according to Uranus. However July was for Isley a dicey time of year as it was the party season for his classmates. He was forever invited to someone's house for a party or gathering of the year group. He finally relented and decided to take Roxanne with him to a party at Dauf's house. He was forced to bring Hysteria along as well because there wasn't anyone able to take care of her while they were at the party in question. Isley made sure that she was at least out of sight of a certain individual, namely Rigaldo who Isley knew would most certainly be out and about and would most definitely be sure to cause trouble. The music was blearing and people were dancing like there was no tomorrow, drinks were served with a heavy hand and Riful was hanging off Dauf's arm, giggling and saying lewd comments about all the men, (Dauf in particular) and she sounded like she was drunk. Hysteria's eyes were wide as she took it all in. She was a little bit scared. Isley settled down near a couple of his classmates who were well behaved like he was, not drinking because they had decided that someone needed to drive the drunken idiots home. Isley decided on a drink while Roxanne declined saying that she would drive tonight.

Hysteria quietly walked through the crowd and she felt like she was out of place. Everyone here were all drinking and dancing and having a good time, except Hysteria of course. She didn't know a single person at this place except Isley and Roxanne. She listened to the music and found the song to be quite different from what she was allowed to listen to when she was back at her father's house. She couldn't help but wonder what he would say about this music that was playing. The idea for some reason made her want to laugh, but she refrained from doing so.

Three hours passed and Rigaldo was bored. He tilted his head as he noticed a tall girl wander around, her long blond hair floating around her. She had two braided bangs and two braids in her high pony tail. She was an absolute beauty, and Rigaldo couldn't help but wonder what curves she was hiding underneath that dress. He felt compelled to go towards her and find out.

Hysteria suddenly turned as a young man approached her, her long blond hair swaying as she moved. His grey eyes looked at her with interest and Hysteria found herself feeling oddly nervous. His hair was sleek and black, and he was tall and lithe. He didn't look all that dangerous, but Hysteria's gut was telling her she should head back to Isley and quickly. She paused as she looked the stranger in the eye. His grey eyes were focused on her and she was shaking. He came over to her and she instinctively started to back away. She felt a wall against her back and she tried to move in another direction but she was blocked by him. He was blocking her only escape route. She tried to work out how to get away when he suddenly pressed her against the wall, his body touching her's in a way that no one's had ever done before in her life. She tried to move away to the left but she was soon stopped by him again,

"Come on Sugar, don't be so difficult," he purred, "it's rare to see girls like you around these parts."

Hysteria cringed and kept trying to dodge him, but he was just too strong. He grabbed her firmly and carried her away.

Hysteria was trying to fight him despite the fact that she was easily overpowered by him. He carried her in to a bed room and shut the door. Hysteria struggled and tried to call out, but because the music was so loud she doubted that anyone could hear her at all. She fought him as he laid her on the bed, pressing himself against her, kissing her and touching her in places that she didn't want to be touched. She begged him to stop, tried to fight him but it was all in vain. She kept crying and pleading with him to stop, but he soon had her dress off and it wasn't long before she was completely naked, crying and fighting him. He undressed himself and re pinned her on the bed, before she could even get away. He pressed something hard against her, touching her again despite the fact that she was crying for him to stop. He forced her legs apart and he silenced her with a kiss. He then forced himself between her legs and she could feel something hard push deep within her. Hysteria screamed with pain.

"Please, it hurts, please stop it hurts!" she cried,

He just ignored her and kept pushing himself in to her, then pulling out again. Each stroke hurt more than the last. He was moaning and Hysteria was sure that her voice was almost gone from all of her yelling pleading and crying. She closed her eyes and the tears slid down her face. She had never known so much pain, his moans ringing in her ears. She hoped that it would all end, that he would stop, or that it would hurt him. He let out a loud and deep moan and he lay alongside of her, sleeping now that he had done what he'd wanted to. Hysteria had to get out of the room. She was still hurting from him. She found her dress and pulled it on, fleeing out of the room crying.

Roxanne had headed outside for some fresh air; the music was getting to her head. She felt someone barrel in to her and was soon having to comfort a crying Hysteria. She wasn't crying very loud and Roxanne tried to ask Hysteria what was wrong, but the poor girl had lost her voice. She did indicate downwards, and Roxanne quietly took her inside and called Isley out.

By the time they had arrived back at Roxanne's Hysteria was shaking. Roxanne took Hysteria in to the bathroom and then had a look at where Hysteria had pointed. Roxanne's face was white and she felt sick. Someone had done something to Hysteria…and she didn't like the thoughts that were running through her mind. There was little doubt in her mind that someone had raped the girl. And based on how badly Hysteria was shaking, she had been raped fairly recently. Roxanne ran hot water in to the bathtub and got Hysteria to undress and hop in. Roxanne then undid Hysteria's hair and washed it for her.

Isley came in as Roxanne was drying Hysteria's hair and Hysteria was in her nightgown. She was leaning on Roxanne and Isley could have sworn he heard Hysteria say "It hurts."

Hysteria slept badly and found that she was clutching Fluffy tighter than ever before. She was still sore from what had happened and she was also shaken. It felt to her as if she'd only just gotten to sleep when she was woken again.

Roxanne noticed that Hysteria looked quite tired, so she decided that she'd call Elizabeth, thinking that she mightn't mind having a quiet Hysteria, but Roxanne had a feeling it was more than that that was making Hysteria quiet. Roxanne hoped that Elizabeth would be able to get Hysteria back to at least half normal, but she doubted it. The weekend was about the only time that Hysteria was a bit more relaxed.

By the time two weeks passed Hysteria was slowly starting to come to terms with what had happed. She had told Roxanne what happened, but she was too scared to say it in front of Isley…especially since she was sure that Isley would flip over it. She woke to a new day and felt sick. She stayed in bed, not game to even get up because she knew that she'd more than likely throw up. Hysteria closed her eyes and she laid back. She heard Roxanne pad in,

"Hysi, it's eight o'clock, time to get up," Roxanne called gently,

"I feel sick Rox," Hysteria said,

"Oh!" Roxanne's eyes widened, "Just rest for a bit then,"

Hysteria lay back and tried not to feel the nausea that was laying her low.

Hysteria felt better in the afternoon, so she had something to eat. It was Roxanne's day off at work, and she was surprised to see that Hysteria seemed better in the afternoon than the morning; she decided to wait until after Hysteria went to bed before talking to Isley, there was something that she wanted to tell him.

Isley slowly drunk his hot drink and looked over to Roxanne,

"I don't know about you but I have a feeling that Rigaldo is to blame." She faltered under Isley's responding glare,

"Of course it would be him, why wouldn't it be?" Isley cursed, "Of all the people that it could have been…damn it!"

"We don't know that for certain Isley," Roxanne replied,

"He's as good as done it Roxanne," he hissed, "who else has grey eyes and black hair in my year?"

Roxanne fell silent, she didn't like where Isley was heading, but he was right, who else was like Hysteria described, indeed who else would look like that? Roxanne looked at her feet, she knew that there would be a fight, sooner rather than later and someone was going to pay. She hoped that Isley wasn't the one that got hurt; whatever was going to happen tomorrow, Roxanne hoped that the two would sort things out peacefully without the raw fighting that was sure to happen. She looked over to Isley and wondered what was going on in his mind, something that she did frequently with varying degrees of success, and found herself drawing a blank; this time she just couldn't fathom what he was thinking.

Hysteria woke to the same sick feeling that she had yesterday and sighed. She got up and was soon running to be sick. Her head pounded and she crawled back in to bed, the horrible feeling persisting.

By the time Roxanne got up she knew that something was amiss. Hysteria was still in bed, and she looked quite pale again.

"How are you feeling Hysi," Roxanne asked gently,

"Horrible, like I want to throw up," Hysteria whimpered.

Roxanne tilted her head and was soon calling around to see if anyone was able to keep an eye on Hysteria for the day. She didn't have much of a choice and she had to go to work soon. Roxanne had called almost everyone that she knew and they were all busy…except for possibly one person. Roxanne took a deep breath and dialled a number that she had never dialled before.

"Hi Rox, what's up?" Cassandra's voice sounded like she'd had a night and a half,

"Well, I have to go to work and Hysi needs someone with her, because she's not feeling the best."

"I'll be there in five," Cassandra replied,

"Cass-" Roxanne began and heard the phone beeping, "ah fuck it."

She hung up the phone and sighed. Cassandra never changed. She was always willing to help Roxanne no matter what happened. Sometimes it was a good thing and on other occasions it wasn't.

True to her word Cassandra arrived within five minutes, Roxanne was nervous about leaving Hysteria with Cassandra but she soon discovered that Cass wasn't on her own; she had a small child with her as well.

"Oh, and who is this little girl?" Roxanne asked,

"Undadame's daughter, Hilda." Cassandra told Roxanne. "She's three months."

"I see," said Roxanne, not really understanding,

"Undadame's finally got full custody," Cassandra replied, "her ex-husband was too violent."

"Right," said Roxanne,

"Hurry up Rox, you'll be late." Cassandra chastised.

Roxanne was forced to leave without telling Cass anything that she might need.

Cassandra sighed; Roxanne could sure be a kill joy when she wanted to be. Cassandra checked on Hysteria, Isley's little sister. She was lying in her bed, her eyes closed. Cassandra lightly touched the girl's forehead and noticed that she didn't even have a fever. Surely if the girl was as sick as Roxanne was saying she would have a fever to prove it. However as Cassandra settled Hilda down for a nap, she heard the tell-tale signs that someone was sick. She quietly padded towards Hysteria's room again and noticed that Hysteria looked pale, exactly like Roxanne had said she looked earlier that morning. Since Cassandra didn't know any better, she didn't really know what she should do to help Hysteria. She decided to call Undadame since Undadame would know why Hysteria wasn't feeling so well. Undadame picked up on the second ring. She listened to Cassandra and told her that she would be there shortly.

It took Undadame fifteen minutes to arrive to Roxanne's house. She came in and was all business. She soon discovered that Hysteria had no knowledge in terms of sex education. She knew about periods, but that was about as far as she knew. Undadame was thoughtful and tried to explain as much as she could to Hysteria. She noticed that Hysteria was very smart; it didn't take her long to understand what Undadame was trying to explain to her. Undadame had a couple of thoughts and suggested that when Roxanne came home that Cassandra suggest getting Hysteria in to see a doctor, which Cassandra agreed to. Undadame had to head back to her work and Cassandra gave Hysteria a light lunch to see if she could hold it down.

By the time Roxanne got home it was nearly four in the afternoon. She was surprised to see Hysteria playing with Hilda while Cassandra was watching. Hysteria was soon tired and rested on the lounge. Cassandra got up and upon seeing Roxanne said,

"All's well."

Roxanne blinked,

"Really?" She asked,

"Yes," Cassandra replied, "Undadame came over on her lunch break and suggested that you take Hysteria in to see the doctors if the pattern holds up."

"Undadame came over to visit?" Roxanne blinked in surprise,

"Yes she did." Cassandra replied, "She had to teach Hysteria a lot of things today."

Roxanne's eyes widened and as Cassandra gave her a repeat over the conversation that Undadame had with Hysteria it was clear to Roxanne that Undadame undoubtedly knew her stuff. Hysteria had a good teacher that was for sure.

Isley stormed down the corridor and opened the door with a loud smashing noise. He had some unfinished business with a certain person that he was going to sort out at once. He knew who he was after. The dark haired young man had looked up the moment the door opened and upon seeing Isley in the door way, a smirk appeared on his face,

"Well, well, if it isn't the top ranked student of the school," Rigaldo sneered,

"Shut up Rigaldo, if you know what's good for you." Isley growled,

"Oh really," Rigaldo smirked,

Isley punched Rigaldo in the face, smashing Rigaldo's jaw,

"How dare you touch my younger sister! If you so much as go near Hysteria again, I'll do much worse than this you mark my words." Isley threatened Rigaldo.

Rigaldo grimaced as he delicately touched his jaw; damn Isley knew where to hit. Isley left the room without another word, but the threat was more than clear. Rigaldo wondered on what Isley had in mind when he said that he was going to do worse than what he just did. He came to a sudden realisation. The vague girl in his head that he had sex with at Dauf's party was Isley's little sister…he was stunned, and he wondered how badly he'd been drinking at the time. He tried not to think about it too much, especially since he was always drinking and getting drunk any way. It was alcohol that took away Rigaldo's control. He wondered exactly why Isley had hit him like this and slowly he came up with a theory. He figured that he was fairly drunk so he couldn't have known exactly what happened but as far as he could guess, he'd had sex with Isley's little sister, no doubt against her wishes if Isley was willing to punch Rigaldo in the face like he just did. Rigaldo swore loudly from both pain and the realisation that he had caused some major trouble _again_ because he was drinking. He knew that if Isley took this to the police that he was as good as fucked.

By the time Isley arrived home Hysteria was asleep on the couch, her toy horse clutched in her arms. Her breathing was deep and even and she looked peaceful, Isley wondered why she was asleep so early and shook his head, Hysteria was never asleep this early. Normally she was in bed at 8:30 and sleeping, not 6:30 and on the couch. Isley sighed and wondered why she was sleeping on the couch at this hour. Roxanne came in to the room and sighed. The expression on her face was one that Isley was worried about, it was one that he had only seen once and it was one that meant that trouble was to be had. He soon heard something that he had been dreading. There wouldn't be much time, he would have to hide Roxanne and Hysteria. It seemed that his father was trying to find Hysteria and he would stop at nothing to find the girl.

"Are you alright Roxanne?" Isley asked worried,

"I don't know Isley, I mean he was quite full on and was talking about the police and everything, I didn't say anything in front of her for her own sake." Roxanne indicated to Hysteria, "She was alright with Cassandra, and was even helping with Undadame's little girl."

"I will have to move the two of you to my apartment if that is at all possible," Isley sighed,

"He'd be watching Isley, no we'd have to stay here, at least he doesn't know about the two of us and he doesn't know that she's here. We can count on that for now." Roxanne reasoned, "It might be a good idea to sell the apartment too, although we will need a home later if we sell this place."

"Or we could just stay with Cassandra for a while," Hysteria yawned, "I'm sure she won't mind us staying with her."

Isley blinked and Roxanne raised an eyebrow. Hysteria looked from her brother to his girlfriend and sighed,

"I'm not completely naïve," she sighed, "if you two are planning to find a new place why don't we stay with Cass? It would be nice for all of us."

Roxanne was stunned and Isley looked at her and shook his head,

"We'll talk about it later," he suggested, "When we're all fully awake and aware."

Hysteria fell asleep on the couch again; a faint sigh escaped her lips.

Three months passed since Roxanne had received the threatening phone call from Isley's father. Roxanne had thought nothing of it since she was sure that it was just a hoax, meant to scare them into thinking that he was on to Isley and that he knew about the relationship that Roxanne and Isley had. Hysteria was starting to show signs of a pregnancy and Roxanne was beginning to be concerned for her. Hysteria was acting a little out of the ordinary and Roxanne wasn't sure what was wrong. She had gone as far as to ask her what was wrong, but Hysteria had insisted that all was well and she was ok. Roxanne wasn't sure if she should trust the girl's judgement but she did. Hysteria's whole nature was docile and unusually quiet, almost as if she was constantly lost in thought. Isley had tried talking to Hysteria about the baby, but she became emphatic about keeping it, to the point of yelling the house down and then some. Isley figured that he'd try to talk to her about it, but no sooner did he start that then did Hysteria become almost unbearable. He was forced to drop the issue. However it didn't mean that it was going away anytime soon.

Hysteria woke to a new day and was calmly eating breakfast when she became aware of Isley and Roxanne's presence. She finished her mouthful and raised an eyebrow, waiting for them to say something. Isley ran a hand through his long hair and sighed,

"Hysi," he began,

"I've told you already, I want to keep it," her eyes narrowed dangerously, it was a look that their father was famous for and one that Isley didn't like. It reminded him too much of their father but on Hysteria it was a look that made her almost frightening, "_nothing_ is going to make me change my mind."

He sighed, "Please Hysi," he pleaded, "we know that already,"

Hysteria glared at him, "Then why are you asking me to get rid of him/her."

Isley was speechless and Roxanne's eyes were wide,

"Why are you so surprised? I know what I want." Hysteria ate another mouthful of food, before she continued "I want this baby,"

"We know that Hysi," Isley sighed, "What we were trying to say was that you'd need to know _how_ to look after it."

Hysteria blinked and looked at Isley, she raised an eyebrow. She ate in silence, each mouthful of cereal was pronounced. Isley waited for the yelling and fury that usually followed. Hysteria slowly ate her breakfast, and as she ate she looked at Isley and Roxanne,

"If I agree to this," she asked, "I won't have my baby taken away?"

Isley looked at Roxanne and he realised that Hysteria was serious, she wanted that baby right or wrong and no one was going to change her mind,

"Of course you won't have it taken from you," Isley sighed,

Hysteria slowly got up and placed her bowl in the sink, "Fine," she said, her voice normal. It was the only victory that Isley was going to get and they all knew it.

And so Hysteria's "training" began without further ado. She spent most of her time with Cassandra and Hilda, Undadame was often there and would talk Hysteria through the necessary care that a baby would need. Roxanne was surprised when she came over, Hysteria was asleep with Hilda on the rug, both were dead to and Cassandra wasn't in sight. Roxanne heard the sound of a couple of cups being taken out of the cupboard, and she headed in to the kitchen. Cassandra was making some tea, and happed to know that Roxanne was coming over.

"Hey Cass," Roxanne began,

"Hey Rox," Cassandra smiled, "I see you're just in time,"

Roxanne tilted her head, and waited patiently for the kettle to boil. She followed Cassandra out to the lounge room and noticed that Hysteria was still asleep.

"In time for what Cassandra?" Roxanne asked,

"Afternoon tea of course," Cassandra grinned, "Although poor Hysteria's exhausted,"

"I wouldn't doubt it," Roxanne muttered,

"Today was full of excitement too," Cassandra continued as if Roxanne hadn't said anything, "the baby was kicking and she got all excited about it,"

"Uh huh," Roxanne looked at Hysteria splayed out on the floor, her long blond hair also splayed out around her like a silvery halo. Both Hysteria and Isley had almost silver blond hair, their eyes were the only difference between them. Roxanne vaguely heard her sister prattle on about the day and found herself wondering why Hysteria would be so insistent on keeping the baby.

"Oh and she's even though of a possible name for it as well, Miria if it's girl apparently,"

"What?!" Roxanne's attention was suddenly diverted to Cassandra and her thoughts were halted, Hysteria didn't say anything about naming the baby around Isley at all.

"Yeah, it's a strange name isn't it?" Cassandra inquired, "She said that she'd been toying with a few and that one was the most appealing to her."

"Really?" Roxanne squeaked, she was surprised that Hysteria had a name for it at all.

"Yes, Rox," Cassandra replied,

"Oh," said Roxanne in a small voice,

"You seem surprised to hear it," Cassandra commented,

"Because I am surprised," Roxanne admitted,

"Don't be, all she's been talking about is the baby and how excited she is about having something to love, I would have thought that this discussion would have come up a while ago," Cassandra looked at her sister and noticed a look of guilt cross her face,

"Isley's worried about her," she said in a small voice,

"Undadame's through, she'll make sure that Hysteria understands just how much work a baby truly is, and by the way Rox, I forgot to thank you," Cassandra blushed, "you're right about the outfits breaking the ice,"

Hysteria yawned and stretched, as Cassandra said this and then giggled a little bit, she sighed and then lay back down,

"Tired Hysteria?" Cassandra asked,

"A little," Hysteria admitted, "can I have a sandwich please?"

"Sure," Cassandra smiled

Roxanne looked after her sister and shook her head. Hysteria was on her back and Roxanne looked at her,

"Hi Roxanne," Hysteria said trying not to yawn,

"Well at least you're awake now sleepy head," Roxanne teased,

"Oh," Hysteria suddenly sat bolt upright and her hand shot to her stomach, "oh, she's kicking again! Cassandra she's kicking again!"

Cassandra came in with a sandwich, "Really?"

"Yes," Hysteria smiled excitedly, "she's kicking again!"

Roxanne was surprised as Cassandra placed the plate next to Hysteria and placed her hand under Hysteria's.

"Well, it could be a boy, but yes that's quite a kick."

"It's a girl, I know it is." Hysteria replied,

Cassandra smiled, Roxanne said nothing but merely noticed the expression on Hysteria's face. It seemed that Cassandra was telling the truth, that Hysteria was being serious in a way that Isley had never seen before. Roxanne wondered if even their father could shake Hysteria's determination and as far as Roxanne could see the expression on Hysteria's face was clear enough. She would do anything for the tiny baby, even defy her father to keep it. Roxanne had to warn Isley, or at least tell him that he could give up the idea that Hysteria would give up on it. She wanted that baby and she meant it when she said that the only reason that she was agreeing to learning about how to care for babies was that she wasn't going to have her's taken away. It was clear to Roxanne that Hysteria intending to care for the baby that she was carrying. She sighed but knew that there would be no more arguments. In Roxanne's mind it was all made perfectly clear. She just wondered how long it would take Isley to come to the same conclusion.

They arrived home and Roxanne noticed that Hysteria was fast asleep. It took Roxanne a while to figure out what was noticeably different and suddenly realised that the toy horse was nowhere in sight. Roxanne left Hysteria in the car while she quickly raced in and got her bed ready. She came back out and Hysteria was still asleep. Roxanne carefully carried her to her room and placed her in to the bed. Hysteria sighed but she didn't wake. Roxanne tucked her in and headed out to the kitchen, she would start on dinner because Isley would be home soon. As the eggs were cooking she thought about what Cassandra had said,

"Miria eh?" Roxanne wondered out loud, "I don't know what that girl is thinking,"

By the time she'd finished making dinner, Isley was already sitting at the table and they were talking about the unchangeable decision that Hysteria was set on,

"She can be stubborn sometimes," Isley sighed, "even our father couldn't sway her, and that was only once mind you. That was when Hysteria wanted to see a particular movie some time ago now."

Roxanne was surprised, "So did she defy him?"

"No, she just showed him the rating and he ended up seeing it himself. He was quite disturbed over the fact that it was just as children's movie and there wasn't anything wrong with it. He ended up letting her see it with at home."

Roxanne laughed, "So in other words she used persuasion against him and got her own way,"

"More or less," Isley sighed, "she eventually got what she wanted, although it took him a while to realise that she was being serious. I have seen her not as serious as this, so it is safe for me to assume that she really does want this baby, which is a worrying thought."

And they were once again on to the main topic of discussion, Hysteria and her unshakeable resolve to keep the baby that was slowly growing by the day.

Isley like Roxanne before him was surprised that Hysteria had already some up with a name for the baby, and that she was so enthusiastic about the fact that it was kicking. He had yet to see all of this with his own eyes and he softly walked in to Hysteria's room. She was laying down in her bed, her breathing deep and even, her arms around her stomach a small ghost of a smile on her face. Isley lightly touched his sister's forehead and she stirred slightly, her eye lids flickering as she woke,

"Isley," she sighed, drunk with sleep,

"Dinner is ready Hysi," he told her gently. Both he and Roxanne decided that they would help Hysteria where she needed it with the baby, especially after talking with Cassandra about it.

Hysteria slowly got up and followed Isley out.

Once everyone was finished, Roxanne heard the phone ringing. It was a good thing that she answered it and not Isley or Hysteria. It was their father and he asked if either were there. Roxanne made a signal to Isley and he looked at Hysteria, she was tired and was grateful when Isley helped her back to bed.

"Who sorry I didn't quite catch what you were saying?" Roxanne played dumb, using her most sugary tone. Isley's father wasn't amused and threatened her, "Oh, dear we are in a foul mood aren't we mister,"

"I've had enough of your little games girl," Isley's father snapped, he then threatened her some more and hung up. Roxanne was trembling slightly. She dialled Cassandra's number, which was something that she didn't do all that often. Cassandra was more than happy to have them at her place. Roxanne told Isley immediately what had happened. Isley for his part tired not to curse too loudly and agreed that they should stay with Cassandra until his father lost interest in Roxanne.

Hysteria's stomach was practically bulging out in front of her by the time Isley found a suitable house for them. Undadame had told them to make sure that Hysteria took it easy so that she didn't go in to an early labour. The house was a bit larger than Roxanne's old one; the extra room was slotted to be a nursery for Hysteria's baby. Moving in was easy enough, Roxanne had gone shopping with Hysteria to get some things for the baby and Hysteria when it was born. Isley had kept to being on campus for the last three months of the school year and having finished school settled he mostly stayed with Roxanne, avoiding his father as much as possible. Christmas had long since come and gone and as April approached, the weather started to cool down again. Hysteria did have a few false alarms, Isley had asked Undadame about what was going on and she told him that it was most likely Hick's contractions. She did say however to keep an eye on them in case they went further and Hysteria's waters broke. So far they had avoided such happenings and it seemed that they were going to be safe for a little while.

Roxanne and Isley had gotten married earlier that year, and opted to have a quiet wedding rather than draw Isley's father's attention. Roxanne had made Hysteria a bride's maid and Cassandra was all dressed up, wearing a suit for the occasion, which was the most that she would go as far as wearing on any one occasion. Roxanne knew that Cassandra was practical rather than beauty focused, that part of her hadn't changed. Undadame wore a dress and Hilda was cutely in her mother's arms giggling and making all sorts of funny baby noises. Hysteria looked pretty in her dress and Roxanne's wedding dress hugged her body nicely, much to Isley's delight. The wedding was good and everyone was relaxed.

It was almost too good to be true that Isley and Roxanne had three months peace and not a single word from Isley's father since the wedding. It had been so peaceful in fact that they hadn't really noticed that the trouble was starting to brew. Hysteria was happily gushing about her baby kicking and Roxanne was busily trying to have a baby with Isley, although they both had decided to wait until Hysteria's one was born before they tried for one.

It was a normal day for Roxanne, working hard to save up something towards their baby kit that they were setting up. She didn't enjoy her job all that much, but it was the best that she had for now. She sighed as she made sure that she was kept amused by cleaning the shelves to pass the time. She had long since resigned herself to being a little bored at work. She tilted her head and regarded the set of shelves before her, they were spotless. She was heading on to the next aisle when there was a commotion just to the left of her. She heard the raised voices and proceeded with caution. She froze in shock. Isley's father was standing there and yelling at one of her co-workers the poor girl was shaking like a leaf and Isley's father was yelling her down. Roxanne headed over and politely asked him to lower his voice. He rounded on her with a fury that Roxanne had long since been used to with her own father and she tried to calm the man down. Isley's father wasn't having a bar of it. He acted as if he knew everything and Roxanne calmly said she would see if their manager was available to see to his problem. He became more angry if that was at all possible. Roxanne calmly headed towards the manager's office. She explained to her boss what was going on and he came out and asked Isley's father to leave. The man glared at Roxanne and left. Her co-worker was crying and she had to head down the back before she was ok. Roxanne was finished her shift anyway and she drove to Isley's apartment. She wanted to make sure that Hysteria was ok, and that the girl was safe.

Hysteria wanted to escape, but she wanted to make sure that it was safe to do so. She was trying to work out how she was going to get out of her current predicament. Her father had been furious but thankfully he didn't notice that she was pregnant. She didn't know how she was going to escape. She carefully tried one of the doors and it opened she looked around and slowly crept behind the car. She didn't think that she was going to make it. She was scared for her baby, her precious Miria who had yet to come. Hysteria could hear her father's car pull up and she was afraid. She carefully hid herself, hoping that she wouldn't see her. The bruise on her cheek was smarting from his blow and she had to be grateful that he didn't hit anywhere else. She didn't want her Miria being in danger. She continued forwards and was able to get on the left side of her father's car without being noticed. He came out of the driver's side and left the car still running. She stayed close enough to hear what he was saying,

"I'm warning you girl no funny business, you'd better be in that dress!" he yelled as he stormed in to the house. It was the only chance she was going to get to escape. She waited until he closed the door behind him. She had some idea as to how to drive a car, so she figured that she was going to have to drive this one. She knew that she didn't have much choice, she was going to have to learn quickly.

Once she was in the car, it was a simple matter of how to work out what everything was. She carefully remembered what Roxanne did when she wanted the car to go backwards and shifted the gear stick into the R position. She then lightly tapped the thinner of the two pedals underneath her feet. The car promptly went backwards. She then pushed the fat pedal and the car stopped. She tapped the thin one to get it moving again, slowly like Roxanne usually did. She copied everything that Roxanne did when she was driving. She pulled out of the open carport, and turned the car carefully to avoid hitting anything. Once she had the car out she shifted the gear stick again, changing it to the D position. She then lightly pushed the thin pedal with her foot and the car started to move forwards.

She carefully followed the road, pushing the car up to the 60 on one of the gauges. She came to the end of the dirt road and turned left onto the bitumen. She pushed the car to go faster, her heart pounding in her mouth as she prayed that she would be able to get back to Isley and Roxanne. She kept her focus on the road and maintained the speed that was signposted. She drove along the road and managed to keep her head calm so that she could focus. Hysteria made sure that she kept to the left hand side of the road and that the car was travelling straight. She saw a sign and carefully followed it. She knew that this was the back way to get to Cassandra's house. Hysteria couldn't help but smirk a little as she wondered what her father's reaction would be when he discovered that the other set of car keys and the house keys were missing. She was shaking and excited. The baby had stopped kicking for now, but Hysteria was sure that she would be kicking again soon.

A wave of pain made her hit the large pedal, the car pulling to a halt. She was several minutes' drive from Cassandra's house, too far for Cassandra to see the car at any rate. She was wondering what she should do when someone came walking past the car. His eyes met her's, and a quick glance told her more than she needed. It was _that_ guy. She turned away and realised that she wasn't afraid for some reason, something was different about him, though his appearance was the same.

"Hey are you ok?" he asked her, as she had the window open,

"I'm fine," she lied,

"You don't look to great," he commented, "I think you need to see a doctor or something."

Hysteria suddenly felt more pain and doubled over in agony.

"I understand if you don't want to trust me," he sighed, "but will you at least let me help you?"

"You raped me, so how can I trust you?!" Hysteria cried,

"I know," he sighed, "I know, and I'm sorry I truly am."

She glared at him for a moment and realised that he was being sincere. Her glare faltered, and she looked at her stomach.

"How are you able to help me?" she asked him without looking at him,

"Get you to the hospital for starters," he replied,

"I don't think I need that," Hysteria looked at him, and he looked back at her,

"I don't know," he began, but paused for a second. Hysteria pulled the handbrake up and shifted the gearstick in to the N position. She then undid her seatbelt and opened the door. Rigaldo moved so that she had room to move. He was quite dismayed that she was so heavily pregnant because of what he'd done to her. She looked him in the eye and he returned her gaze.

"I guess I could get you back to your brother or…" he suggested,

"Or what else?" she asked, Rigaldo was surprised that she was openly talking to him at all, he hesitated, and didn't know what possessed him to softly kiss her. Hysteria didn't even pull away as he kissed her. Rigaldo wanted to kick himself but she kissed him back, it deepened and he found himself holding her to him gently, and he then felt the baby kick hard. They slightly pulled apart and Rigaldo felt truly terrible,

"I guess that should have been our first meeting," he muttered.

"It should have," she replied, much to his surprise, "why are you so different from then?"

He looked into her pale blue eyes and realised that she was talking about many months ago. He sighed, "Mostly I get like that when I drink way too much, which is why I've decided enough is enough, I'm not drinking anymore."

He realised that his arms were around her, but she didn't seem to mind, in fact she was pulling closer to him, "Are you sure that you're ok?" he asked her,

"I'm a little scared," she admitted, "but I don't know why I feel safe with you."

Rigaldo felt the true weight of his actions. He made Hysteria a promise, one that he wouldn't go back on ever. He promised to keep her safe and to take care of her. He then decided to take her to his place as it was the closest. Hysteria gratefully sat in the passenger's side of the car as Rigaldo drove to his house. He was a man of his word much like Isley, although Hysteria knew that Isley didn't like Rigaldo all that much. She had often heard Isley complain about Rigaldo being like a caged animal at times. She admired the way that he easily handled the car. She decided to try to get some sleep and fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

Rigaldo pulled into the driveway and noticed that Hysteria was asleep. Her breathing was deep and even. He would have to do something about the car, but no real ideas sprung to mind. He decided that he would do the best that he could. He would have to tell Isley that Hysteria was safe for now because no doubt about it Isley would be worried sick about Hysteria, Rigaldo would be if she were his younger sister, and although he might be pissed off, Rigaldo was sure that Isley would be less annoyed at him if he knew that she was safe.

Isley was shocked at the fact that of all the numbers to ring him it was Rigaldo's. He was furious upon finding out that Hysteria was at Rigaldo's place, but when he spoke with her, he discovered that their father had gotten her, and if it wasn't for Rigaldo coming along when he did she might be in a more dangerous situation than what she was in now. The biggest surprise for Isley though was the fact that Rigaldo even sounded different. He sounded more like a normal person than usual. Then Isley's father rung him in a royal fury demanding to know how Hysteria knew how to drive a car. Isley was speechless. He told Roxanne about Hysteria's misadventures and Roxanne summed it all up quite well,

"At least she's safe and sound now." Roxanne said, amazed,

Isley agreed. They headed out to Rigaldo's house and Hysteria was asleep on the couch, Rigaldo, Isley and Roxanne all talked. Hysteria woke and after much debate it was decided that Hysteria would stay with Rigaldo. Isley was surprised that Rigaldo was even keeping an eye on her. Hysteria lay back down on the couch and Rigaldo hastened to get her a pillow to sleep on. Once she was settled on the couch, Hysteria slept. Isley was still annoyed at Rigaldo, but he wasn't as angry as what he thought he'd be. The plus side was that at least Rigaldo was behaving himself. It was going to take Isley a while to get used to the more reserved Rigaldo. Isley was shaking his head with surprise.

Three hours passed and Hysteria woke to a wave of pain. Rigaldo was in the kitchen with Roxanne and Isley they were talking in low voices. She got up and walked into the kitchen,

"Hey, you're awake," Rigaldo smiled, Isley shook his head,

"It hurts," Hysteria mumbled,

"What hurts?" Roxanne asked,

"My stomach again," Hysteria sighed.

"Maybe you should rest," Rigaldo suggested,

"It hurts too much," Hysteria sighed,

Rigaldo cast a worried look at Hysteria and Isley was inching towards the phone.


	2. Chapter 1

Claymore AU Chapter 1: The Bond of Sisters

_Hysteria sighed. Today was just too long and she was beginning to wonder where Isley was and half wondering how much longer before Roxanne came back. She was lying down on the bed and was half asleep when the door opened with a loud bang. She jumped and before she could even react she was staring straight in to the eyes of her father. She didn't understand at all, she at first thought that she was dreaming, that she would wake up and be on her own. It wasn't until he hit her and started to yell at her that she realised what was going on. Miria would be in danger and she couldn't stand the thought. Her father dragged her in to the car threatening her and yelling the whole while. He drove out to a strange place and then shoved her in to a room,_

"_You had better have that dress on when I get back girl or else!" he snarled._

_Hysteria gaped at him in shock and she heard him storm down the stairs. She was afraid, and she didn't want to obey her father. She trembled with fear and her heart was in her mouth. She was worried about what her father had intended and more importantly how he found out that she was with Isley and Roxanne. Hysteria took a deep steadying breath and tried to work it all out. The baby was kicking a little, and she placed her hand where she could feel the baby's kicks,_

"_It's going to be ok Miria," she said, "we'll be fine…"_

_Hysteria struggled to get a hold of her emotions and she could feel tears springing to her eyes, so that her vision became blurred. She took deep breaths and prayed that she would be ok, that Miria was safe and sound inside of her._

_Hysteria looked at the dress and gasped in shock, there was no way she could wear something as skimpy as it. Not on her life. She'd always wear more modest clothing, and now he was telling her to wear a dress like this…it made no sense. She wondered what her father was thinking making her wear such a strange dress that was just not her at any rate. She looked out of the window and hoped like all hell that she would be able to escape this nightmare. She tried to keep her breathing calm, but she was so worried that she couldn't keep herself steady. She talked to Miria to keep her mind off her father's threats. She wondered why she felt so tired, but forced herself to keep her mind actively focusing on her escape._

Hysteria wasn't sure what was going on, but the pain increased in both its strength and its frequency. She wasn't going to complain about it all just yet, she was sure that it was just a stomach ache, although Isley, Roxanne, and even Rigaldo were sure it was something else. As she doubled over in pain she began to wonder if it was something else. Rigaldo stayed by her side and it wasn't long before she felt water or something similar run between her legs. She moaned in pain and Rigaldo called out to Isley. "Oi, Isley, I think her waters have broken!"

Isley came right in and Hysteria was holding on to Rigaldo's arm and leaning gratefully in to his chest, the baby a large swelling between them. She tried not to cry out in pain, but she felt a wave that laid her low. She moaned in agony, her grip tightening on Rigaldo's arm. Rigaldo didn't complain at all. Isley suggested that they call Undadame, or get Hysteria to Cassandra's place. Rigaldo was worried about that idea, but he agreed that it was for the best once he found out that Undadame was a midwife. He carried Hysteria it to the car she stole from her father, and made sure that the back seat was lined with towels so that they could return a clean-ish car to Isley's father. Hysteria was moaning in agony and there wasn't anything that could be done about it.

The trip to Cassandra's place was like a journey and a half. Rigaldo sat with Hysteria and Roxanne and Isley were up the front. It took them half an hour to get there, by which time Hysteria was crying because she was in so much pain. Rigaldo was very worried about her and as each contraction was stronger than the last, he worried the whole time. Hysteria tried not to scream, but it was quite hard, as the contractions were really causing her grief. It was far worse than when she was raped at any rate, but this was for something that she wanted, something that was precious to her, Miria. Hysteria couldn't feel the baby kicking at all, Rigaldo held her hand as the contractions coursed through her at a fast pace now. However she was hours away from giving birth.

Cassandra had a hot bath ready, and Undadame had come back from work with everything that she was going to need to deliver the baby while it was being born. She sat in the bathroom next to Hysteria who was in the bath the water was meant to soothe the pain a bit, but Hysteria doubted that it did that much. Rigaldo was pacing nervously, he really didn't know what he could do to help Hysteria and Undadame asked Cassandra if she could get the blue room ready. Cassandra told Undadame that the blue room was already ready, and Undadame asked it if the plastic mattress protector was on the bed. Cassandra ran and checked and confirmed that the plastic mattress protector was on the bed. Hysteria moaned in agony again and Undadame carefully helped her out of the bath with Rigaldo's help. She then guided Hysteria to the blue room and managed to get her in the bed.

Hysteria's agony had only just begun. She cried out as pain tore through her, she felt as if a thousand knives were ripping in to her body, but oh how she wanted her baby, her Miria. She didn't think that she could stand the pain much longer, Rigaldo held her hand, worried since it was thanks to him that she was in so much pain. There wasn't a thing that he could do to help Hysteria.

Hysteria bore the pain; she could feel it as it ripped through her. There was nothing like it, no other pain was able to compare to the pain that she was having now. Hysteria moaned and shifted her body a bit, lying back to try to ease the pain. Hours must have passed, but time seemed to stand still. Hysteria managed to close her eyes, but she didn't know if she slept or not. She had a couple of random thoughts that were seemingly useless, but she wouldn't be able to recall them at any rate. Undadame had encouraged Hysteria to try to sleep through the pain, and when she left it was the last thing that Hysteria even remembered. Apart from the waves of pain that coursed through her at a regular rate.

Rigaldo stayed by Hysteria's side, not moving even an inch. He felt horrible about causing her so much pain and so helpless to do anything about it. He gazed at her, her eyes were closed and he hoped that she was getting some sleep at least. Her breathing was deep and even, so he guessed that she was sleeping. Undadame kept an eye on Hysteria's progress, and whatever she was looking for Rigaldo didn't know. He asked her how much longer Hysteria had to suffer, and Undadame explained that Hysteria still had a while to go.

"The baby's not quite ready yet, and she needs to dilate more," Undadame told him "it will be a while yet."

Rigaldo looked at Hysteria again and was truly worried about her; he hoped that it would all be over soon, for Hysteria's sake.

Isley heaved a sigh; he was sitting out in the kitchen when he got another phone call. His father had been calling every damned hour, and he was so furious that he'd obviously called the police, and Isley had decided to tell them the real truth about his father. Of course that didn't go down well with his father, and when he found out that Isley was already married to Roxanne he exploded, though not as badly when he found out that Hysteria was due to have a baby at any time. His reaction sealed his fate. He had truly blown more than just a fuse, Roxanne was glad that the man would be locked up, even if it was just for the night. Isley had agreed with her on that one and they spoke nothing more of it. Undadame came out after checking on Hysteria and Isley knew that she still wasn't ready to give birth to her baby just yet. However she had to be reasonably close as Undadame was starting to pull out some of her kit. Roxanne spoke up,

"How close is she Undadame?" Roxanne asked hesitantly, she wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad time to ask such a question as Undadame seemed busy.

Roxanne guessed that it would be bad manners to simply interrupt Undadame if she was in the middle of something like she was now. Undadame for her part simply put the kit together and replied, "We might see the baby come soon, she's progressing well."

Isley stood up, Roxanne holding on to his arm. Hysteria suddenly screamed loudly, "Oh it hurts, it hurts!"

Isley and Roxanne hurried, following Undadame. Hysteria was shaking, crying even. There was very little doubt that she was in a lot of pain, if her screaming wasn't loud enough anyway. She had Rigaldo's hand clutched tightly in her own and she was gripping the sheets in her other hand. She panted and Undadame had a look,

"Goodness me, you're further than I thought," she said, calmly to reassure Hysteria, although Hysteria didn't really notice what Undadame was saying as another painful contraction flowed through her.

"It hurts," Hysteria sobbed, "it hurts,"

"It won't last much longer dear," Undadame told her,

Hysteria for her part hoped that Undadame was right and that the pain wouldn't last much longer. She screamed as another contraction rolled through her body, the baby felt like she'd moved and was in a strange place. Hysteria moaned again, the agony was far beyond anything she'd ever felt. She lay back panting. Undadame knew that this was the most dangerous time of the labour, the baby was definitely on the way, Hysteria was certainly dilated enough, amniotic fluid splatting on to the sheets as the baby came closer to being born. Hysteria cried in pain and pushed.

The air was tense as Hysteria gave birth to her baby, the child sliding from her body once the head and shoulders were clear. The small baby was a little girl, as Hysteria had thought, and Rigaldo was busily making sure that Hysteria was as comfortable as she could be. Hysteria demanded to see her baby, and when Undadame gave the small girl to Hysteria, she promptly cried. It had been the one thing that Hysteria had wanted, and the baby would be the only thing that Hysteria would need. Rigaldo looked at the small girl in wonder; she was like Hysteria, pretty, and sweet. She even had her mother's eyes, blue and sweet. Rigaldo smiled and felt glad that the worse of the pain was now over for Hysteria. He was glad that both mother and child were healthy and safe. He knew that with the birth of this child that she would be a heavy responsibility. She would need around the clock care to make sure that she was healthy and happy. Rigaldo looked at the child and he felt the strangest of emotions that he'd ever felt. He couldn't define why but the small child made him almost want to cry.

"Miria," Hysteria nuzzled the girl gently, and Rigaldo blinked,

"Miria?" he asked, trying to be sure that he'd even heard Hysteria correctly and that it wasn't a figment of his imagination

"Miria," Hysteria smiled,

"Miria it is then," Rigaldo smiled and kissed Hysteria on the forehead, Hysteria smiled, and then she sighed, half falling back exhausted from the effort that she'd put in giving birth to Miria. Hysteria refused to let her baby go, she was happy that Miria was finally here and now. She slept with Miria at her side, holding the tiny baby as protectively as she could. No one was taking her Miria, no one. Not even her father was going to take her precious Miria.

Isley was glad that it was almost all over. He was glad that both the baby and his sister were ok, though he would have to get used to the idea of Rigaldo being around more often, and with Hysteria to boot. He sighed as everyone decided to get some well-earned rest. After all Hysteria had only just had her baby and she was bound to need quiet so that she could rest after all of the hard work she'd had to do. Isley was tired as well (having stayed up more than half the night waiting for his niece to be born) and Rigaldo remained by Hysteria's side, almost as if he didn't want to leave her on her own with a small baby. Things sure were going to be different now.

The first six months passed in a blur, Hysteria was happy to stay with Rigaldo and look after Miria, as she knew that Miria would need constant care and attention. Rigaldo soon proved to be quite a good father; he would often try to soothe Miria when she cried, though Hysteria knew when it was time to breast feed Miria. But there was something that annoyed Hysteria, something that she wanted but Rigaldo wasn't willing to even go there. He would kiss her; then again she found it odd that she wanted more than a kiss, more than him holding her. She often slept with Miria, and that was fine, but the more she got to know Rigaldo, the more she craved him. It was strange that she felt that way about him at all, especially since he did rape her, but he was a man of his word and he'd promised to care for her and Miria. Yet there was one thing that she desired and she was at a loss to explain why she wanted to be in bed with Rigaldo, to make love properly to have sex for the lack of better terms and yet he withheld himself from touching her more than necessary. He would hold her gently, kiss her softly and she would be happy with him and Miria, but she still wanted to be in his bed. For Hysteria it was a catch twenty two. Isley had told her not to, but she longed for it so badly that she would often lie awake imagining what it would be like. She knew that if it did go that far know what could possibly happen, but for some reason she didn't seem to mind the thought.

Her days couldn't have been better; Miria grew and charmed her aunt and uncle, and Hysteria was able to enjoy Roxanne's company. It was as Miria's first birthday was approaching that Hysteria decided that enough was enough. She made it as clear as she dared what she required.

They were alone, Miria asleep in her crib, when Hysteria stretched and got up, as she was going to check on Miria, just to make sure that all was well with their daughter. Once she was sure that Miria was ok she headed back to the lounge room, Rigaldo was snoring his head off on the large couch. Hysteria tilted her head and sighed. She padded towards the arm chair and intended to half curled up in it when Rigaldo suddenly got up and stretched. Hysteria walked over to him and planted a kiss on his lips. He looked at her surprised and even without speaking; it seemed that he knew what she was asking,

"You know that Isley'll be mad if he finds out," Rigaldo told her,

"Who said I was going to tell him?" Hysteria asked, a small smile on her face, she had wanted to deepen the kiss but was afraid that he would pull back like he normally did whenever she went to be more intimate with him.

"Hmm, are you suggesting that…?" He paused and suddenly realised what she was saying, or at least what she was trying to say without being so pointed about it "Well then to hell with the virtue,"

He picked her up so that her legs were around his waist and carried her to his bedroom. Hysteria kissed him again and he gently laid her on the bed. He deepened the kiss, his tongue entering her mouth, and Hysteria wanted more. It wasn't long before she was moaning and pleading with him for more. Rigaldo gave her more than an hour of pleasure, Hysteria knew that she'd reached the heights and then he entered her. If she thought what he'd done earlier was pleasurable Hysteria decided that she was very much mistaken. She moaned loudly in to his chest as he moved to be inside of her, swiftly creating a rhythm that made her moan even louder. Then she felt such a height of pleasure that she clutched at his shoulders as they both moaned in ecstasy. She wasn't going to tell Isley at all. He wouldn't understand at any rate. Rigaldo's grey eyes regarded her and Hysteria felt a smile on her face,

"Can we do it again please?" she asked,

"So soon Hysi?" Rigaldo asked her, "You're a bit keen aren't you,"

"Maybe, I am," she said,

"I suppose we can," he said after a moment, and he grinned, "I guess you don't mind foreplay, but how about I try something different,"

He disappeared under the sheets, Hysteria went to sit up and ask him what he meant by foreplay when she felt his head between her legs and waves of pleasure made her throw her head back and moan,

"Oh please, don't stop, don't stop!" she moaned, "Ahh…ahh…ohh…"

For several more hours he made her moan with pleasure. Hysteria wondered if he got as much pleasure from it as what she was getting. She knew that if she was caught like this with Rigaldo that she would be in more than just trouble from Isley. Hysteria moaned again as Rigaldo did something between her legs that was really good. Whatever he was doing she found herself enjoying immeasurably and she was moaning louder and louder despite the fact that she was trying to suppress her cries.

Hysteria lay on Rigaldo's chest. This was heavenly, she thought. She dozed in Rigaldo's arms happily enjoying the closeness of him. She knew that she would have to get up soon though as Miria would wake and need her breakfast. Hysteria carefully got up and dressed. By the time she headed to Miria's room she was up and crying, Miria was hungry. Hysteria wondered why she was feeling a little guilty, but she pushed the thought away as Rigaldo came in,

"Hey, looks like someone's hungry,"

"Ma, ma, ma," Miria cooed, the tears gone now that Hysteria had picked her up

Hysteria felt Rigaldo's arm around her waist and then Rigaldo hugged both Hysteria and Miria. There was a tell-tale knock on the door and Rigaldo kissed Hysteria on the forehead, he headed back in to his room to at least pull on some pants before answering the door. Hysteria sighed and carried Miria out in to the lounge room. Once she'd placed Miria near her toys Hysteria pulled her jacket tighter around herself, her shirt was too light and she was a little cold. Miria rolled over and was soon crawling around on the floor. She headed towards her mother and lifted herself up, grabbing her mother's leg,

"Ma, ma, ma," Miria cooed again as Isley walked in. "Ma, ma, ma,"

"Slept in I see," Isley said, an eyebrow raised,

Hysteria raised her eyebrow back, "You're early I see,"

Rigaldo cracked up laughing, "Wow, I didn't know that she could be so touché like you Isley,"

Isley glared at Rigaldo, "Don't go giving her any ideas,"

"She's your sister!" Rigaldo laughed, "I wouldn't be surprised if she's like you,"

Isley glowered at Rigaldo but softened when he saw Miria. Miria held on to Hysteria's leg tightly and cooed.

"Goodness me, she'll be walking soon," Isley smiled,

"She already does," Hysteria told Isley, "watch,"

She took Miria's hands and gently supported Miria so that she was on her two small legs. No sooner did Hysteria start to move then did Miria's small legs begin to walk. Isley blinked as Miria decided to head over to Rigaldo, saying "Da, da, da." Hysteria let go of one hand and Miria suddenly turned back towards her mother, and held her free hand up to Hysteria, her large blue eyes looking up at her mother. Hysteria picked Miria up and the girl nestled in to her mother's arms.

"Not by herself yet though," Isley said as Miria let out a loud yawn and then cried, "looks like she's hungry."

They all sat down to breakfast, Miria making a mess in her high chair, milk and cereal all over the floor, the chair and herself. How she managed to actually eat was astounding to Isley. He watched as his niece made an absolute mess, until Hysteria fed her, cleaning up everything on the chair floor and Miria. He wondered why Hysteria didn't just feed Miria outright. He soon saw why though, because no sooner did Hysteria try to feed her than did Miria turn in the chair, making a fuss and crying. It didn't last for long as Miria's hunger clearly won out and once she had the small spoon in her hand she was happily making another elaborate mess.

Miria yawned and once she'd had enough Hysteria carefully lay her down with her toys for the second time that morning, but it didn't seem to interest Miria in the slightest. She crawled after her mother, clearly wanting to be carried around for some strange reason. Isley watched as Hysteria sat with Miria and tried to get her to play with a couple of toys. Miria looked at her mother and flopped in to Hysteria's lap. Isley sighed; he would have to tell Hysteria despite the fact that she was only just seventeen. He didn't want to say anything in case it upset her, but she needed to know. It was something that had been bugging him for some time now. He cleared his throat and wondered why he had a feeling that Hysteria already knew what he was going to tell her.

"Hysi," Isley begun, and then paused,

"Yes Isley?" Hysteria looked at him,

He took a deep breath and begun.

It was as Isley had thought. Hysteria was shocked and horrified,

"He what?" she all but yelled, "Surely there's a mistake, he can't be serious!"

"Not as far as I know, though he's gone completely off his rocker, I can tell you." Isley sighed, "And he specifically requested to see Miria,"

Hysteria's eyes widened in horror as she held Miria tightly to her, the child seemed to feel her mother's vibes,

"NO," Hysteria blanched, "He's not going anywhere near my daughter!"

"I know Hysi, I know, Roxanne and I both agree with you, there's no telling what will happen if he has her." Isley tried to calm his sister down before Miria started to cry. For some strange reason Miria always cried when her mother was the slightest bit stressed or when her mother was afraid. It was as if Miria had a deep bond with her mother that transcended reason. Miria sniffled as her mother's emotions looked set to tip the child over the scales and start crying and Isley spoke again,

"He's in a foul mood anyway because Teresa ran away, and I've told him countless times that I don't know where she is and yet he seems to be convinced that I'm hiding Teresa somewhere. I haven't seen her in months. She hasn't got a phone, nor does she have anywhere else to go,"

"Oh, so she thinks that she's got some sense about her now?" Hysteria half scorned, "Of course she leaves when it suites her, I wouldn't be surprised if she's in trouble or something."

"Hysi!" Isley cried in shock, he had never known his sister to be so actively full on about what Teresa was getting up to at any rate.

"You know what I'm like Isley, I hate being ignored," Hysteria reminded her brother,

A sudden realisation dawned on Isley; of course there was a method to Hysteria's occasional madness

"You know where she is?" he asked her,

"NOPE," she replied emphasizing on the P.

"Please Hysi, Tess could be in danger," he pleaded with her, although in this case it was useless because she had already divulged what she knew and could only apply speculation

"Like I said I know as much as you do brother," she batted her eyelashes at him.

Miria yawned. Now that some of the tension was gone from the room, she was happy to sleep in her mother's arms without a care in the world. Isley heaved a sigh and hoped that his sister was telling the truth. After all Hysteria seemed to be hiding a lot of things lately, and by the time Isley was ready to go, Hysteria was putting Miria in her crib, the girl long since dead to the world.

A week later Hysteria was playing with Miria when she heard a knock on the door,

"It's open," she called.

The door opened and lo and behold it was Teresa of all people who'd entered

"Hysi, please I need your help," Teresa bowed her head,

"Why?" Hysteria asked,

Teresa walked over to Hysteria and placed her sister's hand on her stomach. Hysteria felt a kick, just under her hand,

"What happened?" she asked,

Teresa looked at her older sister,

"I know I shouldn't have, but I…I slept with Johnothan, and I didn't want him to know about it because I don't know what to do." Teresa said in a rush, "I mean I want the baby, but I don't want our father to know, he'll kill me."

Teresa sobbed. Hysteria bit back the furious comments she wanted to say after all Teresa was her sister, and she didn't want any foul blood between them. Hysteria was surprised to see her sister like it at all. Normally Teresa was confident and sure of herself, not scared and afraid like she was now.

"Why not tell Johnothan?" Hysteria asked, "It's the only thing you can do."

Teresa looked at her sister and sighed.

"Ok," she said, "I'll tell him but I don't want Isley to know that I was here ok,"

Hysteria looked at Teresa and for a moment something passed between them, something that had never happened before in their lives. It was as if the old arguments were somehow rendered invalid and were replaced with a comradely that was to last a life time.

Teresa came to visit her niece as often as she could without being seen by Isley. She usually came with Johnothan, and Miria would play with her toys. Hysteria said nothing to Isley about what was going on, not just for Teresa's sake. She was hiding a few things of her own as well. No one except Rigaldo knew what it was that they did when they were alone together. Miria was often asleep and it was often late at night when they did it. It was something that Hysteria wasn't willing to talk about in front of her brother. She managed to be busy; it was something that she seemed to have a knack for. Miria took up most of Hysteria's day and she loved it. Teresa's visits were a welcome relief when the day was just too long. Then Hysteria's nights were filled with Rigaldo and his soft voice in her ears, sometimes inside of her, sometimes just holding her and sometimes they just talked. Hysteria found herself feeling like she was on air, but she kept her guard up all the same. She didn't want her father anywhere near Miria.

It was a quiet day; Hysteria had been playing with Miria when she heard the sound of a knock on the door. She didn't worry about it as she was sure that it was all just her imagination, but when the knock happened again, she picked up Miria and headed to the door wondering who would bother coming around during the middle of the day. A quick look revealed her father. Hysteria froze and quickly retreated, she called Isley immediately, since he was the closest. He was astounded and almost didn't believe her, but Hysteria couldn't keep the fear from her voice, and Miria started to cry. Isley could hear Miria and he knew at once that Hysteria was far from lying. He headed over to Rigaldo's house now, worried.

By the time Isley had got there their father was leaving. Isley stayed out of sight and decided to see Hysteria first. He called out, "Hysi, it's me," and the door swung open.

"How is he doing it?" she asked shaken, "How does he know what's going on?"

Isley could hardly provide Hysteria with an answer. He told her to make sure that she had the phone near her should their father come near her again. It was the best that they could do for now, knowing that he seemed to be on the edge of it all. Close and knowing at the same time, like a ghost haunting Hysteria. Isley was beginning to lose his patience with their father, he decided enough was enough. He was going to stop the old man once and for all.

Teresa was glad that she was spared the drama of her father. Johnothan hadn't told her that they would be leaving town, but she decided that she'd head to Hysteria to say goodbye for now at least. When she arrived, Hysteria was with her daughter. It didn't take Teresa long to say goodbye to her sister, but it would take forever for Teresa to forget Hysteria. It was with great sadness that the two sisters bid farewell, both knowing somewhere deep down that they would see each other again.

After Miria's second birthday, it seemed that things settled. Hysteria hadn't seen her father since the near close call, but then again she kept her senses sharp. There was no way that she was going to let her Miria anywhere near her father. It was asking for trouble. However there always seemed to be someone watching their every move so Rigaldo moved them to another town, even further from Hysteria's childhood home.

By the time Miria was three, Isley called with shocking news that rattled Hysteria to the core. Both she and Rigaldo returned and stayed at Isley's house. Roxanne was glad to see them and everyone was surprised when Teresa and Johnothan came with a little girl, barely a year younger than Miria.

The three siblings caught up with one another and Isley told them the true extent of what had happened.

"It's horrible," Isley shuddered, "he's really out done himself this time. The police are after him and everything now. I don't know about the two of you, but I want to find out exactly what's going on and why they are after him. I understand if you don't want to know, but I have a feeling that this is going to be by far the most horrible thing he's done to date."

"Why though, what are they saying he's done?" Teresa asked Isley,

"Murder apparently," Isley replied

"I don't think he'd do that would he?" Hysteria questioned, "I mean we know that he has a foul temper when it pleases him but murder? I have a feeling that it's a bit much."

"I agree," said Teresa, "but if he has done it then we know that we never really knew him at all."

Teresa's small child clung to her mother's leg and looked up at everyone with wide eyes. Miria was playing quietly and Rigaldo was half listening in the conversation, Roxanne had headed off for whatever it was that she was after, and wouldn't be back for another hour or more by Isley's guess, she usually stopped over at friends places and chatted, losing the time that she had. Hysteria shivered and got up. She carefully walked over to Miria and Rigaldo. She could feel Isley's gaze on her back, but there was little that she was going to do about it. She was more than old enough to make her own choices. She sat by Rigaldo and leant her head on his shoulder until Miria jumped up and wanted to sit in Hysteria's lap.

Night fell quickly and after Roxanne's usual feast, there was more talking about the falling out of their father's supposed action and the validity of the police claims. There was no real conclusion and no real evidence to support the claims, but as Isley had told them it was just speculation and there wasn't anything to suggest that the police wouldn't find anything that would lead to proving or disproving them. Miria yawned and Hysteria carried her to bed. Rigaldo went with her. While they were alone together Hysteria suggested that they find somewhere else to stay that wasn't so cramped. Rigaldo seconded that idea and the agreed to find a place the next day. They went into bed not long after Miria had.

The next day Rigaldo was called from work. He told Isley that he was going to have to head back home; Isley was surprised when Hysteria gathered Miria in to her arms and left with Rigaldo. Something didn't make sense to Isley, and there was definitely going on. However he wished them a safe trip and as they left, he noticed that Hysteria had been holding Rigaldo's hand.

Once they were home and unpacked Miria was ready for bed. Rigaldo carried his daughter and Hysteria came in to Miria's room. They carefully put Miria in to her bed and said, "Goodnight Miria," and the small girl replied "Goodnight Mummy, goodnight Daddy" and closed her pretty pale blue eyes. Hysteria fixed up a light supper and by the time they were finished Miria was deeply asleep. Hysteria came out of Miria's room and kissed Rigaldo, and as it deepened, he lifted her up in to his arms and carried her in their room. It had been a while since they were at home and it was good to relax together like this.

They kissed and then they made love, Hysteria moaning loudly as Rigaldo gave her pleasure. He fore played, making her wet and moan, and then he entered her. All too soon the rhythm begun and Hysteria really moaned as she reached the highest of heights that Rigaldo could give her in pleasure. Hysteria gained an idea; she decided to do for Rigaldo what he did for her. it wasn't long before he was moaning as she had done before, and as she got going, she enjoyed the taste of him, and enjoyed the fact that she could give him pleasure as he had given her pleasure,

"Hysi," he moaned deeply, "oh, Hysi,"

"You taste delicious my love," she purred,

"As do you," he replied, moaning deeply,

"You flatter me," she grinned, moving her hips to meet his.

They both moaned deeply and another rhythm began, slightly faster, Rigaldo being deeper inside of her, and the sudden deep orgasm that made both of them moan loudly and come to rest in each other's arms.

A new day dawned and the usual routine begun. Miria was up and almost startled her parents. Luckily Hysteria had her dressing gown on and Rigaldo had his pants on. Miria rushed in and hugged both her parents. She then ran to the kitchen, squealing and acting like a normal three year old without a care in the world except for when she was going to have breakfast. Once Hysteria had gotten dressed they sat down to breakfast together. Rigaldo kissed Miria and Hysteria and left for work. Hysteria was kept busy at home caring for Miria, and sometimes chatting to some friends that she'd made since moving. Today it was a trip to the park so that Miria could play with her friends. Hysteria was surprised that Miria was so good at making friends, she had made a friend with a young boy, called Seto. She also played with another girl called Jean, and since Cassandra and Undadame had moved since Undadame's workmates were being far too judgemental of her relationship with Cassandra, so Hilda was another friend of Miria's although the former went to pre-school. Cassandra had been steadily growing in her stomach and the latest that Hysteria had head was that Cassandra was carrying a baby. She didn't know the details but she was glad for them all the same. Today it was Miria playing with Seto and a couple other kids. They were happily playing tips. Hysteria laughed as she watched the fun that they were having. Jean's mother was an older woman in her thirties that was very kind. She wore her long hair down to her shoulders and was often a great source of advice for Hysteria. Jessica was a nice woman who had been though a messy divorce from a violent husband. She was able to have sole custody of Jean, and it was better for the child. Jean and Miria were running around as Seto chased them. Seto's mother called out, "Be careful!" while the children giggled happily.

Of the three of them Kasahira had a tenancy to over worry about the children, she was always slathered in sunscreen even in the middle of winter. She was an albino, so it made sense that she needed to cover up all the time if she didn't want to get burned. She wore anything but white, insisting that she was white enough. Jessica sat on the bench next to Kasahira and tilted her head, "Who's that girl with the short hair?" as the children ran over to their mothers.

"Mummy, can we have Deneve over please?" Miria asked her mother,

"Where are Deneve's parents?" Hysteria asked, as a tall young man headed over,

"Ah, nice to meet you," he said to the three ladies, "I'm Chronos,"

"Oh, nice to meet you too," Hysteria smiled, "I'm Hysteria,"

"So what brings you here good sir?" asked Jessica,

"Well, Deneve's new friends of course," he replied sheepishly, the children suddenly ran off, to the playground again and Chronos cast a worried glance in their direction, "I've only had her for a week since my ex dumped her on my door step."

"Oh my," said Jessica, "That's a bit sudden,"

"Yes that sounds quite sudden," said Kasahira,

"I had no idea that she was even going to do it," said Chronos, "I mean we never really got along and well, I don't know what she's told Deneve or hasn't. I don't really know anyone in the area, so I guess that it's good for her to make some friends."

"Well, I never," said Jessica suddenly, they all turned and looked as the children came running back, Miria was wide eyed and scared. Deneve was shaking and Seto slammed himself in to his mother's arms. Jean was shaking and Hysteria instinctively asked Miria what was wrong. The child was shaking and said that there was a scary man at the other end of the park. Chronos held Deneve gently and Hysteria tensed. What they saw wasn't good. Hysteria was stunned and as she knew exactly who it was.

"How is he doing it?" she muttered, "Just why is he stalking me?"

Miria clung to her mother and Hysteria lifted the child up to her hip. Jessica and Kasahira both held their children's hands as the man came closer. Hysteria's eyes narrowed dangerously. Her father calmly walked forwards, he stopped about five metres away and went to take another step,

"Don't even think about it," Hysteria hissed,

He stopped and the others looked at Hysteria in shock,

"You will not come any closer to Miria," she growled, "or else."

"I don't think that you are in a position to set conditions girl," her father snarled back,

"Really?" said Hysteria, "You are oblivious then aren't you? You're not going anywhere near her, because I am her mother and I say so."

"Such defiance," he sighed, "it won't get you any-"

"I'm through with you!" Hysteria retorted, "You can no longer make decisions for me, so I suggest you leave before the police come and sort you out. I will not have you near Miria, and that is final."

She drew herself up to full height, her fury more than matching her father's. For the first time in his life, deClamont was forced to back down. There was something about his daughter that he'd never seen before. It was almost as if she'd changed from a girl and was now a woman, a dangerous woman at that. What he wouldn't give to see his granddaughter, to train the girl to his standards, but he was thwarted by his disobedient daughter, who had suddenly become a woman before his very eyes. His eyes honed in on the delicate gold ring on her left hand, and he felt truly cheated. He had arranged a good husband for her, and yet she'd married that stupid boy that was one of his son's classmates. He turned on his heal, defeated for the first time, it was a horrible feeling.

Hysteria was forced to explain everything of course. By the time she was done, it felt as if a burden was off her shoulders and she was lighter. Chronos and Deneve came over with the playgroup and enjoyed lunch at Hysteria's. The children played and when Rigaldo got home, he was surprised to see Chronos, who he hadn't seen since finishing school. The two chatted and laughed as they caught up on old school days.

"Whoa, she did that…I thought that Melissa didn't want you anywhere near Deneve," Rigaldo blanched,

"So did I until Deneve was on my door step last week." Chronos sighed, "By the way Ri, you know how to pick 'em, that wife of yours stood up to this old guy and made him leave like he was so idiot,"

Rigaldo blinked and said, "Well then, I guess that means I better not piss her off then huh?"

Hysteria playfully poked him in the side and he caught her hand and kissed it, "You know I almost thought that he was not going to leave," Hysteria admitted, "I was hoping that we didn't have to call the police that would have been a drag and then they'd just bungle it all up. I wonder though how he's managing to find out what the heck is going on. I really don't like it one bit."

Rigaldo smiled, "At least he did, it is a victory for us and he knows it now. Let's just hope that he stays away now."

Hysteria nodded and soon it was time for everyone to head home. Chronos surprised them when he asked if anyone minded minding Deneve for the night and Hysteria calmly said it wouldn't be a problem. Deneve was a sweet girl and once her father had left, she seemed not to worry. Miria was glad to have a friend over and the two were happily playing until it was time for a bath.

With the little ones in bed Hysteria and Rigaldo relaxed and enjoyed some time together. They talked until it was late at night.

The next day was Rigaldo's day off. They took the girls to the park and Chronos met them there. He explained that he couldn't get a hold of Melissa, and to make matters worse, he didn't know how to cook. Rigaldo sighed, "Well, then you'd better start learning."

Chronos sighed, "I'm not what's best for Deneve, she needs her mother,"

"She needs her father just as much Chronos," Rigaldo replied, "and if Melissa's going to be like that, to hell with it, she mustn't care about Deneve,"

Chronos looked at Rigaldo and realised that his old classmate might be on to something, and as that realisation came, Chronos found a new resolve,

"You're right Rigaldo," said Chronos, "I have a feeling though that something's going to happen, though I don't know what."

The two girls played happily and were soon joined by another girl. Her hair was a chin length bob and she was almost wild.

"What's your name?" Miria asked the girl,

"I'm Helen," the girl grinned, "you are?"

"I'm Deneve," Deneve replied,

"And I'm Miria," Miria added.

The three girls now acquainted started a new game. They played princesses and Helen said that she was a party princess. Miria giggled and she that she was a kind princess, while Deneve said that she was a sweet princess and they played for hours.

By the time it was time to go home, Miria was tired and happy. She was glad that she didn't see the scary old man again, and was glad that her Daddy had come to the park with her and her Mummy. Hysteria carried Miria in to her room and tucked her in. Miria listened intently to a bedtime story and was asleep in minutes.

Hysteria lay naked in their bed. Rigaldo wasn't there yet and Hysteria couldn't be bothered to wear a nightgown. She was half asleep when Rigaldo crawled in to bed with her. His soft touch made her more aware, and she rolled to face him. As she did so he kissed her, pulling her tighter in to his arms. His hands slid over her body and begun tracing patterns on her stomach and her back. It wasn't long before she could feel that he was hard, and she looped her legs around his waist, moving her hips to press against his. He moaned deeply and they made love.

Two years had passed since Hysteria had stood up to her father and in that time Miria had grown. She was ready for her first day at school. Miria looked adorable in her school uniform. Hysteria decided to send a picture to Isley and Roxanne as she knew that they would like to see it. Miria wore a cute little navy blue pinafore with a light blue short sleeved shirt under it. She wore a dark blue hat over her spiky blond hair, pulled up in to a little ponytail with a bright blue bow to go with her school uniform. She also wore short white socks and Hysteria had been certain to make sure that Miria's shoes were nice and clean.

Miria held her mother's hand as she walked with her mother in to her class. She regarded the room with a sense of inquisitiveness, and once she spotted Seto, Jean and Deneve she was happily frolicking with her friends. Hysteria was close to crying, but she pushed the tears away and told Miria that she would pick Miria up from school. Miria for her part simply nodded and ran back over to her friends, putting a smile on Hysteria's face as she remembered what it was almost like for her when she first went to school herself. As she walked away, she noticed a familiar woman, but for the life of her she didn't really know who it was. She hadn't seen that woman in her life as far as she knew, but something told her that if she talked with her, Hysteria would know who she was. Hysteria sighed and walked back home, shaking her head as she wondered why the woman was so familiar to her.

Once she had the house straight, Hysteria began to work out what she needed to do with her day in order to keep herself busy. She used to have Miria to keep her own her toes, but now Miria had to go to school. She thought of calling someone, but it wasn't really worth it. She sighed as she looked at what she had wanted to do and began to tick the list of things off. She soon found that she needed so supplies and wrote out what she would need once she was able to go shopping.

The afternoon came slowly for Hysteria and when it was time to pick up Miria, she was glad to have her daughter back. Miria had made a present for both her and Rigaldo, a picture that was very cute. Hysteria had decided to put it on the fridge. Miria had some tasks for homework and once Hysteria sat with her daughter and helped Miria where she needed it, it wasn't long until Rigaldo came home. He paused as he saw the picture on the fridge and smiled,

"Did you do that at school Miria?" he asked a grin on his face,

Miria smiled back, "Yes Daddy,"

Rigaldo kissed his daughter and then kissed Hysteria on the forehead,

"I missed you two," he smiled,

"I missed you more Daddy," said Miria,

"No I missed both of you more," said Hysteria,

Miria hugged Hysteria around the middle and Rigaldo put his arm around her shoulders. It was good to have a little family time together. The phone rung and the moment dissolved. Rigaldo answered the phone and paused. He made a signal to Hysteria to get Miria out of the room and out of ear shot of the phone. Hysteria quickly got Miria in to the bath as Rigaldo spoke to the caller.

"Look, I don't know who you think you are telling me how my daughter should be raised," Rigaldo snapped, "I don't care what you think, and I also think that if you keep stalking us, I'll call the police. You know that I won't take you being anywhere near Hysteria or Miria, do you understand?"

Rigaldo tried to keep his tone impartial, but he was fuming. Hysteria's father was an arrogant son of a bitch that only wanted to make money off of his daughters and he was fuming about the decision that both Rigaldo and Hysteria had made two years ago. He had wanted Hysteria to marry some rich asshole that was only after Hysteria because her father had taken the time to make sure that he had a few pictures of the girl that showed her body to the fullest extent. Of course Hysteria had known nothing about the pictures until Isley had told her about them, and once she found out about them she was in a state of shock and disbelief. She was so horrified that she couldn't believe that her own father had done this to her at all. Unfortunately for Hysteria her father had made connections and had found several suitors that were willing to have her. However now that she was with Rigaldo, it was a blow to her father that he couldn't even stand. He'd taken to threating phone calls and stalking them. Rigaldo had reluctantly filed in an AVO, and so far that seemed to keep the man away. It seemed now though that the old man had thought that the order was finished. Rigaldo hung up on him and dialled the police for the first time in two years. He felt that it was strange since he never used to have a need to call the police. When he was younger and drinking he was forever getting in to trouble with the cops but now they were on the lookout for Hysteria's father over a supposed murder. Rigaldo sighed and hoped that this time they had gotten the trace that they needed to find the old man.

It had been almost three years since Teresa had seen Hysteria and Johnothan decided that it was time for Clare and Gineve to see their cousin Miria. Clare was asleep in the motorhome that was their entire existence. Gineve was in her seat looking out the window. The afternoon sun was slowly setting in the horizon and it wouldn't be long until the youngest was sleeping as well. Teresa sighed as Johnothan drove carefully negotiating traffic. It was thick and there were a lot of people on the road at this time of the day. Teresa had made sure that they had the right address before they arrived. She knew that it was Hysteria's home, as she knew Rigaldo's car. She carefully picked up Clare, and Clare stirred in her mother's arms, her long pale red hair was wet and it stuck to her small shoulders. Johnothan was carrying Gineve. They approached the door and Teresa knocked carefully, she hadn't seen Isley since the "family" meeting when Clare was a year old. She heard the sounds of footsteps and it was Rigaldo who opened the door. A smile appeared on his face the moment he saw them,

"Hi, come on in," he grinned, "nice to see you after all this time,"

"I could say the same to you," Johnothan replied, "how's the ladies of the house?"

Rigaldo grinned, "Both are doing just fine,"

They headed in to the lounge room and Teresa noticed that her niece was playing quietly on the rug, her toy horses were all lined up for something. Once Miria spotted her though, the girl jumped up and hugged Teresa around the middle,

"Aunty Teresa!" cried Miria, happily hugging Teresa, "Uncle Johnothan!"

She ran over to Johnothan and hugged him. Then Miria let out a yawn. Clearly it was nearly bed time. Hysteria reminded Miria that it was time for the toys to be put away and once Miria had them back in their box, she said goodnight to her Aunt and Uncle and obediently went to bed.

Teresa had Clare and Gineve put in their beds in the motorhome and it wasn't long before the two sisters caught up on things past. Teresa was as shocked as Hysteria had been that their father was still stalking her to an extent and she was more than surprised that their father was acting the way that he was. She soon discovered that Isley and Roxanne were desperately trying to have a baby together and so far they hadn't had any luck. Roxanne had decided that she wanted to take a trip up to Queensland and Isley was going to take leave and go with her. Teresa laughed at some of the antics that Miria had gotten up to and gaped as Hysteria had admitted that she wanted to have another baby. Rigaldo nodded and Teresa raised an eyebrow,

"What on earth do you want another baby for?" Teresa asked,

"I had so much fun with Miria when she was that young that I want to do it all again!" Hysteria grinned, laughing at the look on Teresa's face,

"You're crazy you know that," Teresa teased,

"No crazier than you Teresa," Hysteria grinned, "After all you get dragged half way across the county. Despite the fact that it does sound like fun, I'd be willing to bet that it will be hard to get the girls' schooling done."

Johnothan nodded, "Yes, but luckily for us there is a place at a boarding school for Clare, so she'll be able to do her schooling without trouble."

"She'll miss both of you and even if she does make friends what's to say that she won't enjoy it. What if she hates being away from you? I know that you think that it's for the best, but you can't keep moving around, there has to be a point that you settle down." Hysteria reasoned,

Teresa sighed. She had tried to get Johnothan to see that time and again, but to hear it from Hysteria was a surprise. Johnothan looked as if it was starting to sink in. If it wasn't just Teresa saying it then it must be a concern. He tried to work around it, but he couldn't find a real solution. He barely earned enough to get them by, and renting a house wasn't an option for them. He travelled from town to town looking for work, but really there wasn't anything that they could have that would allow them to stay somewhere at the moment. He sighed and talk soon turned to other subjects.

Miria's second day at school was much like her first. She carefully tried to read the tag on her desk. She knew that it was her name, but she didn't know how the letters made it her name. Seto was sitting next to her and there was another boy with white hair across from her. His name was really long, and it sounded funny when he said it. The teacher called out their names and when she called out "Kakashi" a few of them giggled, Miria being one of them. That was the boy that was sitting across from her. When Miria heard her own name she studied the letters again and a realisation hit her. She could read her own name. She smiled in delight and elbowed Seto gently, when she told him of her discovery, he grinned,

"Cool," he whispered

The teacher called everyone to sit on the story mat. Every one rushed to find a seat and Miria sat up the front like yesterday. The teacher placed the large book on a stand so that everyone could see the large pictures and pages. Miria was a girl enchanted. She listened as the teacher read to them about three little pigs and a big bad wolf. She tried to follow the words as the teacher read them, but there were just too many to follow. She gazed in wonder as the little pigs beat the big bad wolf, and everyone lived happily ever after. She stretched as they went back to their seats for a writing lesson. Today Miria would lean how to write, and she was very excited about that. They started with the first letter of the alphabet, the last letter in Miria's name.

Once writing was finished it was time for recess. Miria played with Seto, Jean, Deneve and Helen. Hilda was also there and six friends played happily. Hilda was in year one and Miria was a little jealous. Hilda already knew how to write and could read too. Miria vowed that she would catch up to Hilda, and she practiced writing in the dirt with a stick that she had found. Hilda had a snack and was jumping around them, laughing as she did so. Once she noticed that Miria was trying to write she called out encouragement to her. Seto was with Miria and he was trying to write too. Helen was playing more so than writing in the dirt. She was always playing around which was why she was so much fun.

Recess finished and they went in to art. Miria carefully picked up the brush and tried to do a really cool picture for Mummy and Daddy. She made a large circle in the middle of the page and changed colour, making sure to put the brush back in to the colour that she took it from, unlike Kakashi who put his brushes in to the next empty pot. Miria made a smiley face in the circle and tried to write her own name in the corner of the page, like Miss Riful would. She carefully put her art work on one of the racks to dry. Then she patiently waited for the next bell. The next bell rung and it was time for reading. It was reading class that Miria like the best. They were given a reader to take home and read with their parents. It had a word on each page, with a brightly coloured picture. They had to read it to Miss Riful, and she would write lots of words on a page. Miria recognised her name on the top of the page, and she did her best to please Miss Riful. The words were the same thing as the pictures. Once Miria figured that out, she was able to read the book without too much trouble. Miss Riful smiled and gave Miria a sticker, with WOW on it. Miria stuck it on her collar and went back to her table. Miss Riful called Kakashi over and Miria drew a picture with coloured pencils while she waited for another bell for lunch.

"Wow Miria!" said Hilda, "That's really cool!"

Miria giggled and soon they were playing. Lunch passed quickly and when they came back, it was time for Library. Miria had never been to Library before. Several children were whispering with excitement. Miss Riful told them that they needed to line up in two lines. Once everyone was in two lines they were led out of the classroom. Miria was both nervous and excited at the same time. She walked alongside Seto and they were both curious. So far they hadn't left the classroom before except for recess and lunch. They walked from the K/1/2 block and through the large court yard where the bigger children played handball and basketball, and they walked past other classes. Most of the kids were older, and they looked big. They walked under the veranda that surrounded the library. Beyond the library there was a large sitting area that had seats and shade. There were even bigger kids sitting under a tree with their books open. They were talking quietly and Miria noticed that they looked busy. Miss Riful led them inside the library, and there was a kindly old lady beaming at them. She wore a loose skirt and a plain blouse. She wore large glasses and had her greying hair pulled back in to a loose bun. Miss Riful told everyone to sit in the chairs and once everyone had a seat the older woman took the front of the class.

"Good afternoon KR," she smiled, "I am the Librarian, Mrs Bess, and I'm going to show you how to borrow books."

Everyone whispered with excitement, but Miria remained riveted to Mrs Bess. She told them that a library was a place where people could borrow books and went on to explain that they each had a school library card. They even had book bags. They were given activities and once they finished them, Mrs Bess showed them the picture book section of the library. Miria was a girl enchanted. She looked at all of the books in wonder and when Miss Riful told everyone that they could choose one book to take home, Miria knew which one she wanted. It had a picture of a large creature with a piece of cake.

Once Mrs Bess scanned the books barcodes, she gave the children the books to put in their book bags. She smiled. This year's kindergarten class were very sweet, especially the young girl with her long spikey blond hair pulled back in to a ponytail with a bright blue ribbon. That girl was a girl enchanted by books, and it was a rare thing to see. She wasn't the only child, of her class that had listened with excitement about being able to take a book home; the young brown haired boy was as excited as she was. It was amazing to see that Miss Riful had a good group this year. They were well behaved and pleasant to teach. It was a good thing that she was having an easy year for her first year out of Uni. Mrs Bess waited for the year seven classes to come in to the library; they had a history assignment apparently due in the middle of the term. She sighed and got out the books that would be relevant to their studies. Last period of the day was a sure fire way to have less behaved students that were only thinking about home time. It was rare to have a student like the little girl who paid attention despite the fact that home time was so close. Mrs Bess smiled and decided to be positive; after all it was her best quality.

Once the final bell rung Miria picked up her book bag and her school bag as well as the picture that she did for Mummy and Daddy and headed out of the gates. She spotted Mummy waiting for her. It seemed that Mummy was talking to a strange woman, one that Miria hadn't seen in her life. The woman had pale blond hair; just like Mummy's and as Miria came closer she noticed that the woman also had the same blue eyes.

The moment Hysteria saw Miria she was relieved. She took Miria's hand and her mother stopped in shock. She didn't have words for the fact that Hysteria was taking her child home. Hysteria's mother stared at her as she led Miria away. Hysteria had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. She ignored it and headed home like normal.

She noticed that Miria was carrying an extra bag that she didn't have that morning and when they got home, Miria showed Hysteria the book that she borrowed from the school library. Hysteria couldn't help but laugh. She'd seen the book before, and it was an old one that she remembered reading when she was in year seven. Miria blinked in confusion and Hysteria said they could read that one tonight. Once Miria read her reader to Hysteria she had a practice sheet to write on. Hysteria got busy making dinner and once Miria had her bath Rigaldo came home with a broad grin on his face. He had some news that Hysteria was going to really love.

Hysteria read the book to Miria, and as she read it, Miria giggled at the fact that the hippopotamus ate cake and sat on the roof. Rigaldo listened and he smiled, though it wasn't over the book. They were finally going to haves their peace that was more than wanted. He watched as Miria seemed to try to follow what Hysteria was saying, using her small finger to follow along. By the end of the book Miria had let out a yawn and was settled back in her blankets. Hysteria kissed Miria on the forehead and the child rolled over and closed her eyes. Once they left her room Rigaldo put his arms around Hysteria's waist and lightly held her to him. He allowed his hands to wonder a little, until he was lightly brushing her breasts. She leaned back,

"Not tonight, please Rigaldo," she sighed,

"Are you alright?" he asked her, worried,

She turned to face him and when he saw how tired she was, he lifted her up and carried her to their room. He gently laid her on the bed, tucking her in like Miria had just been. Hysteria sighed again and she closed her eyes, she looked like she really needed the rest. Rigaldo wondered what was making Hysteria feel under the weather and decided that he would just wait and see. He lightly brushed Hysteria's forehead with a soft kiss. He hoped that she got better soon.

The next morning was a busy one, and much to their surprise, Johnothan had finally found a more permanent job. He was able to find a small starter house and for the first time in their relationship, Teresa was able to have a proper house to call home. She was so excited that they lived near Hysteria and Rigaldo that when she showed Hysteria the two had been happily chatting about it all morning. Clare didn't mind being able to visit her aunt, in fact any one with eyes could see that Clare enjoyed the fact that she could go and play with Miria on the weekends, that she would often be there when Teresa came to visit her sister.

Hysteria heard with amazement that the police had finally tracked their father down for multiple charges and for multiple crimes. She waited to see what would happen next. It wasn't long until she discovered that she was pregnant again. She had yet to tell Rigaldo about it and had wanted to save the news in case something happened and she lost the baby. Now that it had been four months, Hysteria was able to tell Rigaldo and his reaction was one of surprise. He certainly wasn't expecting that she was going to be having their second baby so soon. Miria was excited about being a big sister and Hysteria was busily preparing for a second baby. There were a lot of things that needed to be worked out and fixed for the second baby. They would need to have a clearly defined nursery for the baby and Hysteria was going to need support. Rigaldo wouldn't hear of another near-miss, like when Hysteria's father was involved before Miria was born. It had been a near nightmare for Rigaldo and he was glad that everything was working out this time.

Hysteria sighed as she spent most of her days sleeping or making things. She was trying to fill her time productively and there wasn't much she could do. Hysteria sat and waited for the next hour to arrive. She had taken to counting how many hours it was until it was time to get Miria. It was one of the best parts of her day and things always looked up when Miria was home. Hysteria got up from the bed and pulled a long sleeved jumper on. Her stomach was starting to stick out a bit now, and Rigaldo had taken to gently tracing patterns on it, as well as massaging her back when it was sore. Hysteria often enjoyed it. It was nice when he did it. As she headed to the door, she pulled on her jacket and headed to Miria's school. She smiled at the beautiful cloudless afternoon and as she walked the baby kicked. Hysteria smiled, happy and content that all was well.

When she arrived at Miria's school it was still a couple of minutes before the last bell rung. Hysteria sighed and calmly waited for that bell and when it rung, she watched in amazement as all of the older children practically rushed out of their classrooms and were eager to escape the confines of the school grounds. Miria came over to her and there was a big smile on her face and she had a sticker on her collar. Hysteria was surprised and when she had a closer look it had WOW on it in big bright letters. This wasn't the first time that Miria had come home with a sticker on her collar, nor would it be the last time. Miria's book bag always had a new book in it and when she got home, Miria would read her reader to Hysteria, sometimes even without her finger guiding her. Today Miria handed Hysteria a "Teacher's Award" for Miria's constant effort in class. Hysteria felt a smile on her face,

"Well done Miria," she smiled.

Miria grinned at her mother. Hysteria felt the baby kick again and as she took Miria home, she ran in to her own mother. Hysteria went to avoid her, but her mother stood in their way. Hysteria waited for her mother to move, but the older woman had other ideas, making it clear that she wasn't going to let them go home. Hysteria sighed and was grateful when Jessica upon seeing a possible commotion came over with Kasahira. Hysteria's mother moved away swiftly, as she didn't want to be near her daughter's friends. Hysteria noticed that Seto and Jean were both glad to see Miria, in spite of the fact that they had been able to play together. Jessica and Kasahira came with Hysteria to her place and the three settled the children with their homework.

Rigaldo came home to the smell of a warm stew that Hysteria had spent the afternoon slow cooking. Miria had only just come out of the bath and she was tired and happy. Rigaldo came in to the kitchen and while Hysteria was busy, he gently hugged her. Hysteria let out a small squeal and then turned to face him. She kissed him when she realised it was just him, and Miria giggled.

"Ok kiddo," said Rigaldo, "you need to get your pjs on."

Miria giggled and headed off to her room. By the time she'd come back she was in a little night gown with a pink pony on the front of it. Hysteria had their dinner served and they sat down and ate. Rigaldo found out that Miria had gotten an award for being a good girl in class and that she'd gone up a reading level. He listened as Hysteria told him of the few happenings of the day and then as he told them of his day, Hysteria listened and said very little. After Miria was in bed, Rigaldo ran his hand over Hysteria's growing stomach. She laid back her eyes closed and her breathing was deep and even. He placed his ear on her stomach and he could faintly hear the baby's heartbeat. He felt the baby kick where his hand was and a slow smile made its way on to his face. If only it was like this when Miria had yet to be born. He sighed and sat up next to Hysteria. She slept; almost completely unaware of what was going on around her. Rigaldo wondered if that was a good thing, or if something bad was going to happen to this one as well. He prayed that this time it would all run smoothly and that she would be ok as well as the baby. At least this time he was with her from the beginning and would be with her when this one was born, as he had been with Hysteria when Miria was born. Rigaldo sighed; at least he was being a father. He shuddered as he remembered his own childhood, his own father absent, even when they'd sent the invite to come to the wedding. Isley had come, even if he didn't like Rigaldo that much. Undadame and Cassandra had come too, which was nice. Thankfully Rigaldo's mother had come, and she adored Hysteria. Rigaldo smiled as he thought of his own hard working mother. Her long raven black hair was always flowing about her shoulders and despite the fact that his father had almost never been home and was always cheating on her, Rigaldo's mother never complained and raised Rigaldo to be better than how he was in the past. He was only just starting to pull his own head in now. Ever since Hysteria and Miria had come in to his life, he suddenly realised. If it wasn't for them, he didn't know where he would be. He looked at Hysteria sleeping peacefully and he wondered if it was as easy as that. He often wondered what she was thinking about things, how she felt about another baby. She didn't complain about the aches and back pain. In fact she rarely said anything about it at all. He sighed as he lay beside her. As far as he was concerned she was still pretty, even if there was a baby growing in there.

The next day had seen a surprise visit from Isley and Roxanne. They were about half way towards Queensland and Roxanne had a little surprise for Miria. She told Miria that she wasn't to open it until her birthday. Miria wanted to open it of course, but she listened to her aunt. Miria was sad when Aunty Roxanne and Uncle Isley had to leave, but they promised that they would see them all again before they knew it. Hysteria tilted her head in wonder. Though she was surprised by what Isley had said, she didn't know what he meant. Hysteria was too tired to think about it anyway as her stomach was now bulging full with the baby, it wouldn't be long until it was born. Hysteria hadn't said anything about it, though Isley knew that she was going to have this baby. The June sun would have been warm if it wasn't for the bitter wind that was blowing. After Isley and Roxanne left Hysteria got Miria back inside out of the cold wind. They made snow flakes and candles. Rigaldo was at work, so it was just the two of them at home. Miria's snowflakes were a funny shape and Hysteria's weren't much neater. They laughed at the funny shapes and layered the candles for Miria's grandma.

By the time the candles were ready; they carefully wrapped them and packed them in to a post box. Hysteria put the address on the box and Miria stuck the post stamps on to the box. They got their warm jackets on and headed out to post the parcel. The wind was bitterly cold and Miria snuggled close to her mother, holing her hand tightly through her little mittens. Her scarf was wrapped tightly to keep the cold air from reaching her small body. Once Hysteria opened the top of the post box, Miria pushed the parcel in and Hysteria closed the box again. They walked back home and after a mug of hot chocolate, it was time for lunch. Hysteria made a warm soup for lunch, and Miria enjoyed it so much she had seconds. Hysteria ate her bowl full but didn't eat more; she had a strange feeling, one that she couldn't explain. She had had several false alarms that the baby was coming and was talking it easy. She wondered when Rigaldo was going to be home by and sighed. She would tell him when he got back from work. She decided to have an afternoon sleep, Miria joining her, as she was close to her mother in a way that just couldn't be explained. It seemed that Miria felt as tired as her mother, so as Hysteria's head rested on the pillow, Miria rested alongside her, sleeping.

When Rigaldo got home, both Hysteria and Miria were still sleeping on their bed, their breathing deep and even. He smiled as he watched them, a rare feeling of happiness that couldn't be broken.


End file.
